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THE SEASIDE LIBKARY— POCKET EDITION. 



NO. 

1 Yolande. By William Black 20 

2 Molly Bawn. By " The Duchess ". . , . 20 

3 The Mill on the Floss. By George Eliot 20 

4 Under Two Flags. By " Ouida 20 

5 Admiral's Ward. By Mrs. Alexander.. 20 

6 Portia. By " The Duchess ". , 20 

7 File No. 113. By Emile Gaboriau 20 

8 East Lynne. By Mrs. Henry Wood ...» 20 

9 Wanda. By " Ouida "..., ... 20 

10 The Old Curiosity Shop. By Dickens. 20 

11 John Halifax, Gentleman. Miss Mulock 20 

12 Other People's Money. By Gaboriau. 20 

13 Eyre's Acquittal. By Helen B. Mathers 10 

14 Airy Fairy Lilian. By " The Duchess " 10 

15 Jane Eyre. By Charlotte Bronte 20 

16 Phyllis. By " The Duchess "... k0 

17 The Wooing O't. By Mrs. Alexander.. 15 

18 Shandon Bells. By William Black.... 20 

19 Her Mother's Sin. By the Author of 

" Dora Thome " 10 

SO Within an Inch of His Life. By Emile 
Gaboriau 20 

21 Sunrise. By William Black 20 

22 David Copperfie'd. Dickens. Vol.1.. 20 

22 David Copperfieid. Dickens. Vol. H. 20 

23 A Princess of Thuie. By William Black 20 

24 Pickwick Papers. Dickens. Vol. I... 20 

24 Pickwick Papers. Dickens. Vol. II. . 20 

25 Mrs. Geoffrey. By " The Duchess "... 20 

26 Monsieur Lecoq. By Gaboriau. Vol. I. 20 

26 Monsieur Lecoq. By Gaboriau. Vol.11.. 20 

27 Vanity Fair. By William M. Thackeray 20 

28 Ivanhoe. By Sir Walter Scott.. ... 20 

29 Beauty's Daughters. " The Duchess " 10 

30 Faith and Unfaith. By "The Duchess" 20 

31 Middlemarch. By George Eliot 20 

32 The Land Leaguers. Anthony Trollope 20 

33 The Clique of Gold. Bv Emile Gaboriau 10 

34 Daniel Deronda. By George Eliot ... 30 

35 Lady Audley's Secret. Miss Braddon 20 

36 Adam Bede. By George Eliot 20 

37 Nicholas Nickleby. By Charles Dickens 30 

38 The Widow Lerouge. By Gaboriau.. 20 

39 In Silk Attire. By William Black 20 

40 The Last Days of Pompeii. By Sir E. 

Bulwer Lytton 20 

41 Oliver Twist. By Charles Dickens — 15 

42 Romola. By George Eliot.... 20 

43 The Mystery of Orcival. Gaboriau. ... 20 

44 Macleod of Dare. By William Black. . 20 

45 A Little Pilgrim. By Mrs. Oliphant. . . 10 

46 Very Hard Cash. By Charles Reade. . 20 

47 AltioraPeto. By Laurence Oliphant.. 20 

48 Thicker Than Water. By James Payn. 20 

49 That Beautiful Wretch. By Black... 20 

50 The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton. 

By William Black 20 

61 Dora Thorne. By the Author of " Her 
Mother's Sin" 20 

52 The New Magdalen. By Wilkie Collins. 10 

53 The Story of Ida. By Francesca 10 

54 A Broken Wedding-Ring. By the Au- 

thor of " Dora Thorne " 20 

55 The Three Guardsmen. By Dumas. ... 20 
66 Phantom Fortune. Miss Braddon.... 20 
57 Shirley. By Charlotte Bronte 20 



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58 By the Gate of the Sea. D. C. Murray 10 

59 Vice Versa. By F. Anstey . ... 20 

60 The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper. . 20 

61 Charlotte Temple. By Mrs. Rowson 10 

62 The Executor. By Mrs. Alexander.. 20 

63 The Spy. By J. Fenimore Cooper. . . 20 

64 A Maiden Fair. By Charles Gibbon.. 10 
C5 Back to the Old Home. By M. C. Hay 10 

66 The Romance of a Poor Young Man. 

By Octave Feuillet 10 

67 Lorna Doone. By R. D. Blackmore. . 30 

68 A Queen A mongst Women. By the 

Author of " Dora Thorne " .10 

69 Madolins Lover. By the Author of 

"Dora Thorne" 20 

70 White Wings. By William Black ... 10 

71 A Struggle for Fame. Mrs. Riddell.. 20 

72 Old Myddelton's Money. By M. C. Hay 20 

73 Redeemed by Love. By the Author of 

"Dora Thorne" , 20 

74 AuroraFloyd. By MissM.E. Brpddon 20 

75 Twenty Years After. By Dumas... 20 

76 Wife in Name Only. By the Author of 

"Dora Thorne" 20 

77 A Tale of Two Cities. By Dickens .... 15 

78 Madcap Violet. By William Black... 20 

79 Wedded and Parted. By the Author 

of " Dora Thorne" = 10 

80 June. By Mrs. Forrester. 20 

81 A Daughter of Heth. By Wm. Black. 20 

82 Sealed Lips. By F. Du Boisgobey. . . 20 

83 A Strange Story. Bulwer Lytton .... 20 

84 Hard Times. By Charles Dickens... 10 

85 A Sea Queen. By W. Clark Russell. . 20 

86 Belinda. By Rhoda Broughton 20 

87 Dick Sand ; or, A Captain at Fifteen. 

By Jules Verne 20 

88 ThePrivateersman. Captain Marryat 20 

89 The Red Eric. By R. M. Ballantyne. 10 

90 Ernest Maltravers. Bulwer Lytton.. 20 

91 Barnaby Rudge. By Charles Dickens. 20 

92 Lord Lvnne's Choice. By the Author 

of " Dora Thorne " 10 

93 Anthony Trollope - s Autobiography.. 20 

94 Little Dorrit. By Charles Dickens. . . 30 

95 The Fire Brigade. R. M. Ballantyne 10 

96 Erling the Bold. By R. M. Ballantyne 10 

97 All in a Garden Fair. Walter Besant.. 20 

98 A Woman-Hater. By Charles Reade. 15 

99 Barbara's History. A. B. Ed wards ... 20 

100 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. By 

Jules Verne .. 20 

101 Second Thoughts. Rhoda Broughton 20 
10H The Moonstone. By Wilkie Collins.. . 15 

103 Rose Fleming. By Dora Russell. . . , , 10 

104 The Coral Pin. By F. Du Boisgobey. 30 I 

105 A Noble Wife. By John Saunders. . . . 20 

106 Bleak House. By Charles Dickens. . . 40 

107 Dombey and Son. Charles Dickens.. 40 

108 The Cricket o the Hearth, and Doctor I 

Marigold. ByCharles Dickens — 10 

109 Little Loo. By W. Clark Russell 20 J 

110 Under the Red Flag. By Miss Braddon 10 j 

111 The Little School-Master Mark. By ■ 

J. H. Shorthouse W I 

112 The Waters of Marah. By John Hill 2H> 



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NO. PRICE. NO. 

113 Mrs. Carr's Companion, By M. 149 

G. Wightwick 10 

114 Some of Our Girls. By Mrs. 150 

C.J. Eiloart 20 

115 Diamond Cut Diamond. By T. 151 

Adolphus Trollope 10 

116 Moths. By"Ouida" 20 152 

117 A Tale of the Shore and Ocean. 

By W. H. G. Kingston 20 153 

118 Loys, Lord Berresford. and Eric 

Dering. By u The Duchess ". 10 154 

119 Monica, and A Rose Distill'd. 

By " The Duchess " 10 155 

120 Tom Brown's School Days at 

Rugby. By Thomas Hughes 20 156 

121 Maid of Athens. By Justin Mc- 

Carthy 20 157 

122 lone Stewart. By Mrs. E. Lynn 

Linton 20 158 

128 Sweet is True Love. By " The 

Duchess" 10 159 

124 Three Feathers. By William 

Black 20 

125 The Monarch of Mincing Lane. 160 

By William Black 20 

126 Kilmeny. By William Black. .. 20 161 

127 Adrian Bright. By Mrs. Caddy 20 

128 Afternoon, and Other Sketches. 

By "Ouida" 10 162 

129 Rossmoyne. By " The Duch- 

ess " 10 163 

130 The Last of the Barons. By 

Sir E. Bulwer Lytton 40 164 

131 Our Mutual Friend. Charles 

Dickens 40 165 

132 Master Humphrey's Clock. By 

Charles Dickens 10 

133 Peter the Whaler. By W. H. G. 166 

Kingston 10 

134 The Witching Hour. By " The 167 

Duchess" 10 

135 A Great Heiress. By R. E. Fran- 168 

cillon 10 

136 "That Last Rehearsal." By 169 

"The Duchess" 10 

137 Uncle Jack. By Walter Besant 10 170 
133 Green Pastures and Piccadilly. 

By William Black 20 171 

139 The Romantic Adventures of a 

Milkmaid. By Thomas Hardy 10 172 

140 A Glorious Fortune. By Walter 173 

Besant 10 

141 She Loved Him I By Annie 174 

Thomas 10 175 

142 Jenifer. By Annie- Thomas .... 20 

143 One False, Both Fair. J. B. 176 

Harwood 20 

144 Promises of Marriage. By 177 

Emile Gaboriau 10 178 

145 " Storm-Beaten :" God and The 

Man. By Robert Buchanan.. 20 

146 Love Finds the Way. By Walter 179 

Besant and James Rice 10 

147 Rachel Ray. By Anthony Trol- 180 

lope 20 

148 Thorns and Orange-Blossoms. 181 

By the author of " Dora 
Thome" 10 182 

— m 



PKICE. 

The Captain's Daughter. From 

the Russian of Pushkin 10 

For Himself Alone. By T. W. 

Speight 10 

The Ducie Diamonds. By C. 

Blatherwick 10 

The Uncommercial Traveler. 

By Charles Dickens 20 

The Golden Calf. By Miss M. E. 

Braddon 20 

Annan Water. By Robert Bu- 
chanan 20 

Lady Muriel's Secret. By Jean 

Middlemas 20 

" For a Dream's Sake." By Mrs. 

Herbert Martin 20 

Milly's Hero. By F. W. Robin- 
son 20 

The "Starling. By Norman Mac- 

leod,D.D 10 

A Moment of Madness, and 

Other Stories. By Florence 

Marryat 10 

Her Gentle Deeds. By Sarah 

Tytler 10 

The Lady of Lyons. Founded 

on the Play of that title by 

Lord Lytton., 13 

Eugene Aram. By Sir E. Bul- 
wer Lytton 20 

Winifred Power. By Joyce Dar- 

rell 20 

Leila ; or, TheSiege of Grenada. 

By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton 10 

The History of Henry Esmond. 

By William Makepeace.Thack- 

eray 20 

Moonshine and Marguerites. By 

"The Duchess" 10 

Heart and Science. By Wilkie 

Collins 20 

No Thoroughfare. By Charles 

Dickens and Wilkie Collins. .. 10 
The Haunted Man. By Charles 

Dickens 10 

A Great Treason. By Mary 

Hoppus 80 

Fortune's Wheel, and Other 

Stories. By " The Duchess " 10 
" Golden Girls." By Alan Muir 20 
The Foreigners. By Eleanor C. 

Price 20 

Under a Ban. By Mrs. Lodge.. 20 
Love's Random Shot, and Other 

Stories. By Wilkie Collins... 10 
An April Day. By Philippa P. 

Jephson 10 

Salem Chapel. By Mrs.Oliphant 20 
More Leaves from the Journal 

of a Life in the Highlands. By 

Queen Victoria 10 

Little Make-Believe. By B. L. 

Far jeon 10 

Round the Galley Fire. By W. 

Clark Russell 10 

The New Abelard. By Robert 

Buchanan , 10 

The Millionaire. A Novel 20 



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NO. PRICE, 

183 Old Contrairy, and Other Sto- 

ries. By Florence Marryat. . . 1( 

184 Thirlby Hall. By W. E. Norris. 2C 

185 Dita. By Lady Margaret Ma- 

jendie 

386 The Canon's Ward. By James 

Payn 20 

187 The Midnight Sun. By Fredrika 

Bremer 10 

188 Idonea. By Anne Beale 20 

189 Valerie's Fate. By Mrs. Alex- 

ander 5 

190 Romance of a Black Veil. By 

the author of " Dora Thome " 10 

191 Harry Lorrequer. By Charles 

Lever 15 

192 At the World's Mercy. By F. 

Warden 10 

193 The Rosary Folk. By G. Man- 

ville Fenn 10 

194 "So Near, and Yet So Far!" By 

Alison 10 

195 " The Way of the World." By 

David Christie Murray 15 

196 Hidden Perils. By Mary Cecil 

Hay 10 

197 For Her Dear Sake. By Mary 

Cecil Hay 20 

198 A Husband's Story 10 

199 The Fisher Village. By Anne 

Beale 10 

200 An Old Man's Love. By An- 

thony Trollope 10 

201 The Monastery. By Sir Walter 

Scott 20 

202 The Abbot. By Sir Walter Scott 20 

203 John Bull and His Island. By 

Max O'Rell 10 

204 Vixen. By Miss M. E. Brad don 15 

205 The Minister's Wife. By Mrs. 

Oliphant 30 

206 The Picture, and Jack of All 

Trades. By Charles Reade .. 10 

207 Pretty Miss Neville. By B. M. 

Croker 15 

208 The Ghost of Charlotte Cray, . 

and Other Stories. By Flor- 
ence Marryat 10 

209 John Holdsworth, Chief Mate. 

By W. Clark Russell 10 

210 Readiana: Comments on Cur- 

rent Events. By Chas. Reade 10 

211 The Octoroon. By Miss M. E. 

Braddon 10 

212 Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dra- 

goon. By Chas. Lever (Com- 
plete in one volume) 30 

213 A Terrible Temptation. Chas. 

Reade . . . ; 15 

214 Put Yourself in His Place. By 

Charles Reade 20 

815 Not Like Other Girls. By Rosa 

Nouchette Carey 15 

216 Foul Play. By Charles Reade. 15 

217 The Man She Cared For. By 
F. W. Robinson 15 



818 Agnes Sorel. By G. P. R. James 15 

JCONTINUED ON THIRD PAGE OP COVER.] 



NO. PRICE. 

219 Lady Clare ; or, The Master of 

the Forges. By Georges Oh net 10 

220 Which Loved Him Best? By 

the author of " Dora Thorne '" 10 

221 Comiu' Thro' the Rye. By 

Helen B. Mathers 15 

222 The Sim-Maid. Bv Miss Grant 15 

223 A Sailor's Sweetheart. By W. 

Clark Russell 15 

224 The Arundel Motto. Mary Cecil 
*"3fed?ay 15 

225 Tie Giant's Robe. By F. Anstey 15 

226 Friendship. By " Ouida " 20 

227 Nancy. By Rhoda Broughton. 15 

228 Princess Napraxine. By " Oui- 

da".. 20 

229 Maid, Wife, or Widow? By 

Mrs. Alexander 10 

230 Dorothy Forster. By Walter 

Besant i5 

231 Griffith Gaunt. By Charles 

Reade 15 

232 Love and Money ; or, A Perilous 

Secret. By Charles Reade. . . 10 

233 " I Say No ;" or, the Love-Letter 

Answered. Wilkie Collins.... 15 

234 Barbara; or, Splendid Misery. 

Miss M. E. Braddon 15 

235 "It is Never Too Late to 

Mend." By Charles Reade. .. 20 

236 Which Shall It Be? Mrs. Alex- 

ander 20 

237 Repented at Leisure. By the 

author of " Dora Thorne "... 15 

238 Pascarel. By "Ouida" 26 

239 Signa. By " Ouida " 20 

240 Called Back. By Hugh Conway 10 

241 The Baby's Grandmother. By 

L. B. Walford 10 

242 The Two Orphans. By D'Ennery 10 

243 Tom Burke of " Ours." First 

half. By Charles Lever 20 

243 Tom Burke of " Ours." Second 

half. By Charles Lever. .... 20 

244 A Great Mistake. By the author 

of " His Wedded Wife " 20 

245 Miss Tommy, and In a House- 

Boat. By Miss Mulock 10 

246 A Fatal Dower. By the author 

of " His Wedded Wife " 10 

247 The Armourer's Prentices. By 

Charlotte M. Yonge 10 

248 The House on the Marsh. F. 

Warden 10 

249 " Prince Charlie's Daughter." 

By author of " Dora Thorne " 10 

250 Sunshine and Roses; or, Di- 

ana's Discipline. By the au- 
thor of " Dora Thorne " 10 

251 The Daughter of the Stars, and 

Other Tales. By Hufrh Con- 
way, author of "Called Back" 10 

252 A Sinless Secret. By " Rita " . . 10 

253 The Amazon. By Carl Vosmaer 10 

254 The Wife's Secret, and Fair but 

False. By the author of 
" Dora Thorne " 10 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



By CAPT. FRED. BURNABY, 

Of the Royal Horse Guards. 



NEW YORK: 

GEORGE MUNRO, PUBLISHER, 
IT to 27 Vandkwatbr Street, 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



CHAPTER I. 

Having once resolved to go to Central Asia, the next question 
was how to execute my intention, and, on returning to England 
from Africa, 1 eagerly read every book that could be found, and 
which seemed likely, to give any information about the country 
which 1 proposed to Visit. Vamberry's " Travels," Abbott's " From 
Herat to Khiva," and MacGrahan's "Campaigning on the Oxus," 
were each in turn studied, and judging by the difficulties that the 
gallant correspondent of the " New York Herald " had to overcome 
before he carried his project of ieaching Khiva into execution, 1 felt 
convinced that the task 1 had laid out for myself was anything but 
an easy one. 

The time of year in which I should have to attempt the journey 
was another obstacle to the undertaking, for my leave of absence 
from my regiment would only commence in December. I had al- 
ready, in previous journeys through Russia, discovered what the term 
" cold " really means in that country, and judging from the weather 
experienced by Captnm Abbott when traveling in the month of 
March, in a latitude a good deal to the south of that which seemed 
to me the most practicable, 1 "felt convinced that careful prepara- 
tions must be made for a ride through the steppes in mid-winter, 
or that 1 should inevitably be frozen. The cold of the Kirghiz 
desert is a thing unknown, 1 believe, in any other part of Ihe 
world, even in the arctic regions. An enormous expanse of flat 
country, extending for hundreds of miles, and devoid of everything 
except snow and salt lakes, and here and there saksaool, a species 
of bramble-tree, would have to be traversed on horseback ere Khiva; 
could be reached. The winds in those parts of Asia aie unknown 
to the inhabitants of Europe, who, when they grumble at the so- 
called east wind, can little imagine what that wind is like in those 
countries which lie exposed to the full fury of its first onslaught, 
For there you meet with no warm ocean to mollify its rigor, no trees, 
no rising land, no hills or mountains to check it in its course, and 
it blows on uninterruptedly over a vast snow and salt covered track, 
until, absorbing the saline matter, it cuts the faces of those exposed 
to its gusts with a sensation more liLie tho application of the edge of 
a razor than anything else to which it can be likened. 

There was, besides this, something else to be taken into consider- 
ation. 1 was well aware that no assistance could be expected from 
the Russian authorities, who might not content themselves by indi- 
rectly throwing obstacles iu my way, but might even stop me by 



6 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



sheer force if they found all other ways fail. The account of the 
prohibitory order which 1 had seen published in the " Pall Mall 
Gazette" was, 1 had every reason to believe, correct; and should 1 
not find, after crossing the Ural River, and entering Asia, that my 
long sleigh journey had been all to no purpose, and have to retrace 
my steps through European Russia? These were my first impres- 
sions on arriving in England; but on talking the matter over with 
some Russians of my acquaintance, they assured me that 1 was 
entirely mistaken; that, on the contrary, the authorities at St. Peters- 
burg would readily permit English officers to travel in Central Asia; 
and'it was observed that the order to which I had alluded referred 
only to merchants or people who tried to smuggle contraband goods 
into the recently annexed Khanates. 

A few months later I had the honor of making the acquaintance 
of his Excellency Count Schouvaloff, the Russian embassador in 
London, and formerly the head of the secret police at St. Peters- 
burg. He was excessively kind, and promised to do what he could 
to further my plans; but in an answer to a straightforward question 
as to whether 1 should be permitted to travel in Russian Asia or not, 
his reply was, " My clear sir, that is a subject about which 1 can not 
give you any answer; but on arriving in St. Petersburg the authori- 
ties there will be able to afford you every possible information." It 
was a diplomatic answer — one which bound the count to nothing, 
and 1 went away charmed with the tact and affability of the Rus 
sian embassador. Apparently there was nothing to be learned 
officially from Russian sources; but unofficially, and one by one, 
many little bits of information crept out. 1 now first learned that 
General Milutin, the Minister of W ar ar, St. Petersburg, was per- 
sonally very much opposed to the idea of an English officer travel- 
ing in Central Asia, particularly in that part which lies between tne 
boundaries of British India and Russia. According to him, a Rus- 
sian traveler, a Mr. Pachino, had not been well treated by the 
authorities in India, and this gentleman had not been permitted to 
enter Afghanistan; and, in consequence, General Milutin did not 
see why he should allow an Englishman to do what was denied to a 
Russian subject. 

Another peculiarity, which 1 remarked in several Russians whose 
acquaintance 1 at that time had the honor of making, it may here 
be not out of place to mention. This was their desire to impress 
upon my mind the great advantage it would be for England to have 
a. civilized neighbor like Russia on her Indian frontier; and when I 
did not take the trouble to dissent from their views — for it is a waste 
of breath to argue with Russians about this question — hovv eager 
they were for me to impress their line of thought upon the circle of 
people with whom 1 was the more immediately connected. Of 
course, the arguments brought forward were based upon purely 
philanthropic motives, upon Christianity and civilization. They 
said that the two great powers ought to £ro together hand in glove; 
that there ought to be railways all through Asia formed by Anglo- 
Russian companies; that Russia and England had every sympathy 
in common which should unite them; that they both hated Ger- 
many and loved France; that England and Russia could conquer 
the world, and so on. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



7 



It was a line of reasoning delightfully Russian; and though 1 was 
not so rude as to differ from my would-be persuaders, and lent an 
attentive ear to all their eloquence, 1 could not help thinking that 
the mutual sympathy between England and Germany is much greater 
than that between England and Russia; that the Greek faith, as 
practiced by the lower orders in Russia, is pure paganism in compar- 
ison with the Protestant religion which exists in Prussia and Great 
Britain; that Germany and Great Britain are natural allies against 
Russia, or any other power aggressively disposed toward them; that 
Germans, and Englishmen who are well acquainted with Russia, un- 
derstand by the term " Eussian civilization " something diametric- 
ally opposite to what is attributed to it by those people who form 
their ideas of Muscovite progress from the few Russians whom they 
meet abroad; and that the Honduras Railway would be a paying^ 
concern to its English shareholders in comparison with an Anglo- 
Russian line, to be constructed in Central Asia with English capital 
and Russian directors. 

The time was wearing on, November was drawing to a close, my 
leave of absence would begin on the first of the following mouth, 
and on that day 1 must commence my travels." Preparations were 
rapidly made. Under the advice of Captain Allen Young, of arctic 
fame, 1 ordered a huge water- proof, and, consequently, air-proof, 
bag, of prepared sail-cloth. The bag was seven feet and a half long, 
and ten feet round. A large aperture was left on one side, and the 
traveler could thus take up his quarters inside, and sleep well pro- 
tected from the cold winds. The bag would also be usetul in many 
other ways ; and 1 f OUnd it of great convenience for every purpose 
save the one for which it was originally intended. The manufact- 
urer, not calculating on the enormous dimensions an individual as- 
sumes when enveloped in furs, had not made the aperture large 
enough, and the consequence was that the difficulties, when I at- 
tempted to take a header into the recess of my sleeping-apartment, 
were almost insurmountable: and only on one occasion, and when 
clad somewhat more lightly than usual, 1 succeeded in effecting an 
entrance. Four pairs of the thickest (Scotch fishing-stockings were 
also ordered, and jerseys and flannel shirts of a texture to which 
people in this country are but little accustomed. Then came a suit 
of clothes, made by Messrs, Kino, of Regent Street, and ia which 
they assured me it would be impossible to feel cold. The clothes, 
1 must admit, were exceptionally well made, and well suited to be 
worn under a sheepskin attire; but 1 can nor wish my worst enemy 
a greater punishment than forcing him to sleep out on the steppes 
in winter time with mere cloth attire, no matter how thick. Fur 
or skins of some kind must be worn, or, without this precaution, 
the traveler, should he once close his eyes, will undergo a great risk 
of never openiug them again. Two pairs of boots lined with fur 
were also taken; and for physic — with which it is as well to be sun- 
plied when traveling in out-of-the-way places — some quinine, and 
Cockle's pills, the latter a most invaluable medicine, and one which 
1 have used on tne natives of Central Africa with the greatest possi- 
ble success. In fact, the marvelous effects produced upon the mind 
and body of an Arab sheik, who was impervious to all native medi- 
cines, when 1 administered to him five Cockle's pills, will never fade 



s 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



f rora my memory ; and a friend of mine, who passed through the 
same district many months afterward, intormed me that my fame 
as a " medicine-man" had not died out, but that the marvelous cure 
was even then a theme of conversation in the bazaar. 

So far as 1 could learn from the books which related to Central 
Asia, there would be but little game, and nothing particular in the 
shape of sport; so 1 determined not to take a rifle, when the car- 
tridges would have considerably added to the weight of my luggage, 
the prime object being to travel as light as possible. However, as 
it was as well to have some sort of a gun in the event of falling in 
with wild lowl, which I had been told abounded in some places, I 
took a favorite old No. 12 small bore, and some cartridges made up 
j with No. 5 shot and ball, in the event of falling in with any bears 
or wolves; while a regulation revolver, with about twenty cartridges, 
made up my defensive arsenal in the event of an attack from the 
Turkomans. 

The next thing to be thought of was a cooking apparatus; and if 
1 had taken the advice of many kind friends, 1 should have traveled 
with a batterie cU cuisine sufficient for the wants of M.. Soyer him- 
self. But canteens could not be thought of for a moment, ou ac- 
count of the extra weight, so 1 limited myself to two soldieis' mess 
tins; and admirable little utensils they are too, whether for cooking 
over a spirit-lamp or on a fire, and far superior to any of the more 
costly and cumbersome articles especially invented to get out of order 
and perplex the traveler, A trooper's hold-all, with its accompany- 
ing knife, fork, and spoon, completed my kit; and, with a ther- 
mometer, barometer, and pocket sextant by way of instruments, I 
was ready to start. Even this amount of luggage was much moie 
than was desirable; and when placing the baggage for my journey 
— consisting of the sleeping-sack, a pair of'saddle-bags, railway- 
bag, and gun — into the scales 1 found that it weighed exactly eighty- 
five pounds. An officer in the Footguards, my friend K , 

wished very much to accompany me in my journey, and he would 
have been a most cheery and agreeable companion, as he was accus- 
tomed to travel, and capable of roughing it to any amount; but as 
he w r as ignorant of Russian, and by this time 1 was thoroughly 
aware of the difficulties that would most likely be thrown in my 
way, and of the little chance I had of getting to Khiva alone, I was 
compelled at the last moment, to my great reluctance, to decline 
his proposal.* The day before my departure from London 1 received 
a very courteous letter from Count Schouvaloff, in which he said 
that, as 1 was provided with letters to General Milutin, the Russian 
Minister of War and to General Kauffmann, the commander-in-chief 
ot the forces in the Government of Toorkistan. it only remained for 
him to give me a letter of introduction to his brother at St. Peters- 
burg, and to wish me godspeed on my journey, He al*o added that 
he had sent off a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at St. 
Petersburg, asking him to do everything he could to aid me in my 
proposed journey" And so, at the last moment. 1 began 10 flatter 
myself things looked a little brighter; but some observations from 

* K was determined not to be idle during: his leave, and, as he could not 

go with me to Russia, went, by way of a change, to Abyssinia, where, I be- 
lieve, he had some interestin g .'Klventxi ves. 



A. RIDE TO KHlVAo 



9 



Mr. MacGahan, whose acquaintance I was so fortunate as to make 
at the house of a mutual friend a few evenings previous to my de- 
parture, made me still rather doubtful of success. " You will get 
on very well as far as Fort Number One," had been the remark; 
" and then you will have to pull yourself together and make your 
r;sh. and again in the same way when you leave Russian territory 
for India; but it is to be done, though the odds are rather against 
you/' He had also given me some valuable hints about acquiring 
a knowledge of the Tartar language, and traveling as light as 
possible. 



CHAPTER IL 

The 30tn oi November, 1875, broke cold and damp. It was one 
of those disagreeable days that depress and lower the barometer of 
the human spirit to a semi-despondent level; but 1 had finished all 
my regimental duty, and having provided myself at Thornhill's with 
a strong waist-belt to contain the amount of gold 1 thought neces- 
sary for my journey, and which, by-the-wav, was a most uncom- 
fortable bed- fellow, I drove to the Victoria Station, to start by the 
night mail. * 

1 had determined not to take a servant — they are generally in the 
war, unless they know something of the country traveled in; under 
other conditions, master and man have to change places. I must 
say, however, that I was sorry to leave behind my taithful fellow, 
lie had been with me in several parts of the world, and was able to 
make himself understood by signs and the few broken words of the 
language he might pick up, in a manner to me quite incomprehensi- 
ble; but Russian moujiki (peasants) and Tartar camel-drivers would 
have been too much even for him. Besides, he was a married man, 
and 1 did not wish to be saddled with his wife and family in the event 
of a disaster. 

Our iron horse galloped merrily over the distance between Lon- 
dou and Dover. The passage to Ostend was a favorable one; and 
the following afternoon at 4 p.m. 1 found myself once again in the 
familiar old station of Cologne. 

Two or three hours' delay waiting tor the night express to Berlin, 
and once more en route. The capital of the empire was reached the 
following morning, but I had no time to stop, much as 1 should 
have liked to visit the many well-loved old nooks and corners 
f ami Bat to me in my student days. As it was, 1 could barely catch 
the traiu for St. Petersburg, when I found the carriages very much 
overcrowded, and with difficulty securtd a place. 

Two Russian gentlemen were in the same carriage; and in the 
course of conversation 1 found that one had been employed in the 
diplomatic service in Italy. He said that he had suddenly received 
a telegram from Prince Goitschakoff, at that time at Berlin, requir- 
ing his presence there immediately. The clothes worn in Italy, 
even in winter, are not necessarily of the warmest texture; and my 

* To Mr. MacGahan, and subsequently to Mr. Schuyler, First Secretary at 
the United States Embassy at St. Petersburg, I am greatly indebted for much 
valuable information with reference to my route. 



10 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



lellow-traveler, who, by the way, looked in very delicate health, 
found his journey northward anything but a pleasant one. But his 
troubles, on arriving at the capital, were only beginning, for the 
Prince said to hirn, " I am going to St. Petersburg, and will give 
you your orders there: leave by the next train. " It ivas very cold 
weather; and the unfortunate secretary, unprovided with the nec- 
essary wraps, was miserable at the way the fates had served him, 
He was an Anglophobist, and much chuckled as he told his com- 
panion that a violent article against England had appeared in the 
" Nord "—a paper which, according to him, is inspired by the min- 
istry at St. Petersburg— with reference to Mr. Disraeli having pur- 
chased the Viceroy of Egypt's Suez Canal shares. 
| " The English are a great nation, but very mad," observed an- 
other Russian. "They are sufficiently sane when their interests 
are concerned," said the secretary, "for they have bought these 
Suez shares, which they will make pay : financially as well as polit- 
ically speaking. Two years ago they nearly inveigled the Shah 
into a treaty with Baron "Reiiter, and that would have given them 
the control of the whole of Persia; but, thank goodness, our people 
checkmated them there, and 1 do not think England will try that 
game on again just at present; as to Strausberg, he is a joke to that 
fellow, Reiiter. A nice business the latter would have made out oi 
it, and the English too, for the matter of that." 

The day wore away, and the night came on cold and bleak, as we 
rattled northward on our course. The secretary sat shivering in 
the corner, and the rest of us, enveloped in furs, sought the arms 
of Morpheus. It was an unusual thing to experience such cold in 
a North German railway-carriaare, as generally they were well 
warmed by means of stoves, and the more freciuent fault to rind 
with them is overheating and stuffiness; but, for some reason or 
other, the stupid attendant had let the fire out, and the result was 
anything but an agreeable night. Presently we reached the boundary 
limit between Germany and Russia, when, a few minutes later, i 
found myself, with the rest of the passengers, in a large high hall, 
set aside for the examination of luggage and inspection of passports„ 

It was not a pleasant thing to be kept waiting in a cold room for 
at least three-quarters of an hour, while some spectacled officials 
suspiciously conned each passport. The Russian secretary himself 
was not at all impressed with the wisdom of his Government in still 
jadhering to this system, which is so especially invented to annoy 
J travelers. "What nonsense it is!" he remarked; " the greater 
scoundrel a man is, the greater certainty of his passport being in the 
' most perfect order. Whenever 1 go to France, and am asked for 
my passport, I avoid the difficulty by saying: ' Je suis Anglais; no 
passport;' and the officials, taking me for an Englishman, do not 
bother me, or make me show it/' 

1 was myself a little uneasy about my own pass, as it was one 
which had done service about five years previously, and 1 had for- 
gotten to send it to the Russian Consulate previous to my departure 
from London. However, after looking at the document for some 
time, and scrutinizing its owner very carefully, the official returned 
it to me. 

The customs examination was easily got through, and the only 



A RIDE TO KHIVA, 



11 



pait of my luggage which puzzled the douane officer was the sleep- 
ing-bag. He smelled it suspiciously, the water-proof cloth having 
a strong odor. " What is it tor?" " To sleep in." He put his nose 
down again, and apparently uncertain 'in his own mind as to what 
course to pursue, called for another official, who desired me to un- 
roll it. "And you sleep in that big bag?" was the question. 
" Yes." " What extraordinary people the English are!" observed 
the man who had inspected my passport, and sotto voce, " He must 
bemad," when the other by-standers drew back a little, thinking 
that possibly 1 was dangerous as well. 

Forward again, in a most commodious and well-arranged carriage,' 
well warmed, fairly lighted, and containing every convenience the 
traveler could require during the journey. The Russian trains are 
constructed on the American principle, and you can walk from one 
end to the other, if you like, while two attendants in each carriage 
supply every want of the traveler. 1 must say that in Ihis respect 
railway traveling in Russia is far better arranged than in England, 
and the refreshment-rooms are unequaled by any in that country. 
Everything you ask for is ready at a moment's notice; the dishes 
are hot and good, while the attendance and the bill — a very impor- 
tant adjunct to a traveler's pleasure— leave nothing to be desired, the 
charges being exceedingly moderate. But, with all these advan- 
tages, there is one great" drawback and that is the slowness of the 
pace, which, when traveling through a vast country like Russia, is 
a matter of considerable importance. Extreme cold would seem' to 
have the same effect upon the human mind as extreme heat; and 
the indifference to time which characterizes the Russian is only 
equaled by the low estimation in which it is held by the Spaniard; 
while the word zavtra and manana, the " to-morrow " in the two 
languages, is used as frequently by the Muscovite as by the inhabi- 
tant of the Peninsula. But there is something else which may ac- 
count tor the slowness of pace of the trains in Russia, and that is 
the careless way in which the lines have been constructed. The 
Government inspectors, by all accounts, are easily suborned. The 
golden metal has charms for them greater than the lives ol their 
countrymen; and if the engines were to attempt even a moderate 
rate of speed, the sleepers and rails would inevitably give way. 
Such was the explanation given me by a fellow-traveler, when re- 
ferring to this subject, 

St. Petersburg was at last reached, the journey having been ac- 
complished in three days and a half from Charing Cross. 1 had 
but little delay in obtaining my luggage, for in this respect things 
are well managed in the Russian stations, and I shortly found my- 
self comfortably ensconced in Demout's Hotel. The day was still 
young; and determining to take advantage of the early hour, 1 took 
a sleigh and proceeded to call upon General Milutin, the Minister of 
War. 

The foreigner unaccustomed to St. Petersburg is at first a little 
astonished at the way he is beset, on leavingthe portico of his hotel, by 
the numerous sleigh drivers who are congregated outside, " Where 
to? where to?" they cry: when, hearing the stranger stammer out 
the name of the street, and the name of the person to whom the 
house belongs — for in Russia, as a rule, houses are known by the 



12 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



name of their pioprietors, and are not numbered, as elsewhere— a 
brisk competition ensues. " 1 will take you for a ruble, sir. Look 
what a beautiful sleigh 1 have, and what a fine trotting horsel" 
44 He knows nothing about it!" shouts another; "1 wilMake Ihe 
gentleman for sixty copecks!" and his face assumes an expression 
as if by his offer he had conferred on you a favor unequaled in the 
annals of sleigh-drivers. The other fellows then wait a few seconds 
to see it the stranger will succumb to the offer; but if not, and you 
■ walk forward two or three steps, the drivers change their tone from 
: sixty to forty, and from that to twenty copecks (about sixpence in 
English money), this being about the value of an average " course " 
in St. Petersburg, for there is no established tariff; and the result is 
that foreigners are more robbed by the sleigh-drivers in that city 
i than even by London cabmen. 

General Milutin was not at home, so 1 was informed by a tall 
Swiss, the hall porter, when, leaving the letter of introduction and 
my card, I returned to the hotel. There was no Russian piece going 
on in any of the theaters that evening, although there were French 
and German plays, besides an Italian opera. In St. Petersburg there 
is one capital Russian theater, the Alexandrenskj', and also a na- 
tional opera-house, the Marinsky; but the Alexandiensky is often 
used for German plays, and thus it sometimes occurs, as on tho day 
when 1 arrived, that there is no performance going on in the na- 
tional idiom in any theater in the capital; but, after all, this can be 
easily explained by the intense dislike many apparently well edu- 
cated Russians have lo their own language.- I have often heard 
1hem say, " It does very well for the movjiki (peasants), but the 
language for society is French;" and these remarks have been 
uttered by Russians from the provinces of the interior, whoso knowl 
edge of French was so imperfect, and their accent so atrocious, 
that it jarred on the ear when listening 10 them. There is no doubt 
that there is an intense contempt among the higher circlec through- 
out the empire for everything purely Russian . it muat be foreign, 
to be eagerly sought after. This weakness on the part of the well- 
to-do classes has a very discouraging effect on the industries of the 
nation. It. would rather surprise people in this country if an En- 
glishman were to address his wifo in a foreign language, and if the 
correspondence between members of the same family were never 
carried on in English; or should the daughter of the house be unable 
[to write a letter, save in French, without making the most outrage- 
«ous faults in grammar as well as in spelling But this surprise^ no 
jone in Russia. There is not that love of everything national 
■amidst the higher classes; and to stuay the real. Russ you must not 
i visit St. Petersburg; for there the native is so veneered over with 
foreign polish, that it is impossible to discover what exists below the 
surface; and a French fencinsr-master is infinitely preferred to a 
Russian Socrates. The present Emperor, it is said,' has done every- 
thing in his power to check this weakness on the part of his sub- 
jects, for he is a far-seeing man, and the empire owes more to his 
beneficent rule than to any ot his predecessors; but a deep rooted 
custom can not be ousted in one generation, and it will take many 
years to teach the inhabitants of the capital that this running after 
everything foreign, to the detriment of national enterprise, will 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



13 



never add to the prosperity of Russia. Another influence -which 
has a deterrent effect on the development of the commercial and 
agricultural interest throughout the country is the high importance 
given to military rank: as a Russian country gentleman once bit- 
terly remarked to me, " In my country a man is nobody unless he 
eats the bread of the state. He must wear a uniform, he must have 
a tcldn— military rank— or its equivalent, should he serve in the 
civil service. He must be a consumer instead of a producer; and 
then, and then alone, is he a man to be respected and looked up to." 

The result is, that all the energies of the nation are expended in 
■what will never bring grist to the mill; but, if this system be per- 
sisted in, it will eventually cause a national bankruptcy. 

As 1 was reading a Russian newspaper that evening, 1 came upon 
a short paragraph, which so eminently characterizes the weakness 
for strong liquors which prevails throughout the empire that 1 am 
tempted to reproduce it. 

It appeared that in a certain large village a spirit merchant wished 
to open a drinking establishment; to do this, he had to obtain the eon 
sent of the inhabitants. It was detei mined to put up to auction the 
right of establishing a house of that sort, which fetched the sum of 
3500 rubles; and this, divided among the population, made exactly 
H rubles a head. 

The money was paid, and, according to the correspondent, the 
proprietor must have got back the amount he had given in the first 
three days, as unusual drunkenness prevailed during all that time, 
when, the money being spent, things once more took their usual 
course. 

Drunkenness is not looked upon with nearly the same feeling of 
abhorrence in Russia as in England, among the military class 
especially; and an officer who can drink all his comrades under the 
table is looked upon as a hero. The climate undoubtedly has a 
great deal to do with these ovations to Bacchus; and when the ther- 
mometer is below zero, the body requires much more caloric, both 
externally as well as internally, than in more temperate zones. 

The Russian officers, by way of thoroughly keeping out the cold, 
have invented a singular drink. They call it jonka, After dinner, 
when champagne, claret s and liquors have been drunk to an extent 
of which people in this country have no conception, a huge silver 
bowl is produced; brandy, rum, spirits, and w-ines of all kinds are 
poured in promiscuously; apples and pears with all the fruits on the 
dessert-table, are cut up and tossed into the liquid, wiiich is then 
set on fire, and when in this state the flaming mixture is poured out 
into large goblets, which are handed round the table. It is a 
high trial if the drinking-bout nas been persisted in for several 
hours, and it is one calculated to try the stomachs as well as the 
heads of the guests; but we are in Russia, et d la guerre comme a la 
guerre ; and until this excess of drinking goes somewhat out of 
fashion with the upper circles, we can not be surprised if the lower 
ones remain equally addicted to it. 

That evening I dined at the table d'Jtote, a comparatively speaking 
new institution in Russia, where to dine a la carte is generally pre 
terred. For any one not accustomed to them, Russian dinners are 
somewhat remarkable. Previous to sitting down at table, the guests 



14 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



are taken to a side-buftet; here in profusion are sardines, caviare 
pressed and fresh— a delicacy unknown in this country, where the 
so-called tresh caviare is invariably a little salted— anchovies, and! 
every conceivable relish; cigarettes are now smoked, a glass or so of 
liquor drank, and the party adjourns to the dinner-table, Here, 
with the soup, little pates, made of meat and rice, are eaten in lieu 
of bread. The soups, particularly those made of fish, such as the 
sterlet, are excellent, and well suited to a Russian climate, where an 
enormous quantity of nitrogen must be consumed to keep up the 
animal heat. 

1 found myself seated next to a Russian officer, a general in the 
engineers, and had a long conversation with him about India. 
" You English," he said, " are always thinking that we want India; 
but you are apt to forget one equally important point, which is, that 
some day the natives of that country may wish to govern them 
selves. I study the course of events in India very closery; and 
what do I see? why, that you are doing everything you possibly 
can to teach the inhabitants their own strength. You establish 
schools; you educate the people; they read your language—many 
of them even your newspapers; and the leading men know what is 
going on in Europe just as well as you yourselves. But the day 
will come when some agitators will set these thinking masses in 
motion: and then what force have you to oppose to them? If ever 
there was a nation determined to commit suicide it is England. She 
holds India, as she herself allows, by the force of arms; and yet she 
is doing everything in her power to induce the conquered country 
to throw oft the yoke." 

<£ But do you not think," 1 observed, " that when our frontiers 
touch, as your statesmen wish, there will be more agitators than 
even now in India?" 

He did not reply to this question, but lighted a cigarette and 
turned the conversation. There was a great deal of reason un- 
doubtedly in what he had urged. However, there is one argument 
in favor of further education in India, which is, that the better 
educated 1 he natives of India become, the greater probability ot their 
seeing that their own interests are far more likely to be "cared for 
under a British than a Russian rule. But this still leaves open the 
question of whether they might not prefer to govern themselves, 
which undoubtedly will some day be the case. 

I remember once meeting a highly educated Hindoo on board a 
Peninsular and Oriental steamer, and having a long" conversation 
with him. lie had traveled in England, where ne had been extremely 
well received , and on my asking how the English were liked in 
India, he simply replied, " You are a great nation, and no people 
are more devoted to tneir own institutions than the English. How 
should you like a foreign ruler to establish himself in your country?" 

The following day I called at the British Embassy, but there was 
no one at home save the military attache, and he was so engaged in 
having a lesson that he had no time to see me. Later on in the day 
1 met some old friends, and conversed with them about my proposed 
journey. They all took a pessimist view of the case. " Get to 
Khival" said one man. " You might as well try to get to the moon. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



15 



The Russians will not only stop you, but they will put the screw 
upon our own Foreign Office, and force the latter to do it. Why, 
the Russians are as suspicious as Orientals, and they will imagine 
you are sent by your government to stir up the Khivans. They 
will never believe that an officer, for the mere sake of travel, and at 
his own expense, would go to Khiva," " Why," observed another, 
4 ' only a short time ago an officer who was about to start for Toorkistan 
wanted to take an English servant with him. The man, I believe, 
had been a private in the Second Life-guards; somehow or other, 
this got to the ears of a Russian general. He sent for the servant, 
and said, ' Did you ever correspond tor the Times?' The man, who 
looked upon the question as one put to prove his capabilities, 
answered, ' >7ever did, sir; but have no doubt 1 could, if you wish 
it.' ' 1 tell you what it is,' said the general, ' if 1 catch you writ- 
ing a line to England about what you'see when you are with us, I 
will have you hanged.' The man became alarmed. He could clean 
a horse, and his ideas did not soar above that calling; but to be told 
that he was to be hanged if he wrote a letter! Why, he might want 
to write home to his friends! And he went to some authorities at 
St. Petersburg, and asked them their advice. The result was he 
started with his master, but only got as far as Kasan ; for, on arriv- 
ing at that point, an order was sent to have him turned back." 

The Russian soldiers, it seems, are not very particular what they 
do in Centra] Asia, and General Kauffmann greatly dislikes pub- 
licity. Judging from accounts subsequently given me by eye- wit- 
nesses of what had taken place, 1 cannot help thinking that the 
general is wise in his generation. 

In the afternoon 1 called upon Mr. Schuyler, the United States 
Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg. Be* had been to Tashkent 
and Bokhara, having traveled as far as Port Number One with Mr. 
MacGahan, the energetic correspondent of the " Kew lork Herald. " 
Mr. Schuyler had been able to gather a great deal of most valuable 
information in the course of his travels^ He is the only diplomat 
the Russians have ever permitted to visit their Eastern possessions, 
and is a very keen observer, besides being a thorough master of the 
Russian language. He has been able to dive considerably below the 
surface, in his endeavors to master the state of affairs in Toorkistan. 
His report was forwarded to Washington, and subsequently pub- 
lished in a blue-book; the authorities in Toorkistan not being very 
well pleased at the way he exposed their administration. Mr. 
Schuyler gave me some' very valuable hints as to what I should, 
require, and was himself engaged in writing a book on his travels. 
From the first day of his arrival at St. Petersburg he had studied 
hard to master the Russian language, probably feeling that a diplo- 
mat in a land where he cannot read the newspapers, or conveise 
with all classes of society, if necessary, is rather like a fish out of 
water, and receiving a salary which he has not fairly earned. 

The German Chancellor showed what he thought of this matter; 
for the fir3t thing he did, many years ago, when at the Russian Em- 
bassy, in St. Petersburg, was to study the Russian language, which 
he eventually mastered. Bismarck's example is not a bad one to 
follow; but until the language be made a compulsory one at the 
examination of candidates for our Foreign Office, I fear that the 



16 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



business of the British Embassy at St. Petersburg -will continua to 

be transacted through an interpreter. 

Later on 1 called upon Count SchouvalofFs brother, to whom the ' 
Count had so kindly given me a letter of introduction; but he was 
abroad, so 1 was intormed by the servant, and consequently the 
letter was of no use. 

1 began to be a little anxious about the letter which 1 had left at 
the house of General Milutin, the Minister of War, particularly as 1 
had omitted to fee his hall porter— a great omission on my part, as 
1 was intormed by an Englishman, an old resident in Si. Peters- 
burg; and he added, " Nothing whatever can be done in Russia 
without a judicious disposal of "presents, from the hall porter to the 
mistress ot the minister, who gives out the railway contracts. All 
have their price, and } r ou will find gold, or rather its equivalent in 
ruble paper, an open sesame throughout the Russian Empire." 

1 must say thai, for my part, 1 did not share this opinion about 
the porter's venality. However, as 1 had written to ask the general 
if 1 could have the honor of an interview, and no repiy had been 
sent, 1 determined to write another letter, which was couched in the 
following terms: 

" To General Milutin, the Minister of War: 

" Sir, — 1 trust that you will pardon the liberty 1 am taking in 
writing to you without baring the nonor of your personal acquaint- 
ance. 

" 1 wish to have the permission to go to India, via Khiva, Merve, 
Kabul, But as 1 had read in some English papers, previous to ncy 
departure from London that the Russian Government had issued an 
order forbidding Englishmen to travel in Russian Asia, 1 thought 
that 1 ought to address myself to Count Schouvaloff, the Russian 
embassador in London, fie said to me, ' 1 cannot personally 
answer your question; but when you arrive at St. Petersburg, the 
authorities there will give you every information.' Before 1 quitted 
London 1 received a letter from' Count Schouvalof; informing me 
that he had written officially to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at St. 
Petersburg with a reference to my journey, while the Count inclosed 
me a letter of introduction to his brother, and concluded by wishing 
me a happy journey. Now, sir, 1 should much like to know if I 
can have this permission. If it can not be granted me, will you do 
me the honor of writing tw T o lines and tell me frankly, Yes or No. 
If the answer is No, I shall leave St. Petersburg immediately, be- 
cause my leave of absence will soon be over, and 1 do not wish to 
remain here longer than it is necessary to receive your answer. 1 
have the honor to be, etc." 

Having dispatched this letter, 1 began to be a little easier in my 
mind. I did not think that the general, who, by all accounts, is a 
most gentleman-like man, would purposely delay replying to my 
note; nor was I wrong in my surmises. In the meantime 1 was 
trying to get all the information 1 could about the route to Khiva. 



A. HIDE To KHITA. 



17 



CHAPTER 111. 

Mr. Schtjtler thought that the best way to go to Khiva would 
be by Astrakhan and the Caspian to Krasnovodsk, and from there 
across the steppes on horseback to Khiva. This, undoubtedly, 
would have been the shoitest and easiest journey; but a paragraph 
which 1 read in a paper that afternoon showed rne that this route 
was out ot the question. The paragraph was to ihe effect that the 
accumulation of ice had already prevented navigation in the Caspian, 
and that the Volga was frozen. 

1 tried to get some information from d few Russian officers whose 
acquaintance 1 accidentally made, but all to no effect They did 
not know themselves. Tiiey believed that there was a post to 
Khiva, and that the Tartars had carried letters there on horseback; 
but whether frOm-Orenburg or from Tashkent no one knew 

1 now determined, should the reply to my letters to General 
Milutin be in the affirmative, to go down to Orenburg and seek for 
further information in that town. In the event of General Milutin's 
answer being in the negative, 1 had made up my mind to go straight 
to Persia, and then, skirting the Russian boundary dine, pass \ia 
Merve and Bokhara to India." 

It would have been an interesting journey, though very difficult 
to know the exact boundary line in some parts, tor, as I have 
noticed before in the last Russian staff map of Toorkistan, dated 18T5 ; 
ihe boundary-line, extending over a large tract of country, is not 
marked by a dotted line, as in other parts of the map; thus showiug 
that there is a doubt in the mind of the officer by whom it was com 
piled as to how far Russia extends in that direction. 

All sorts of reports were circulated with reference to General 
Kaulf man, the Governor-general of Toorkistan— some to the effect 
that he had sent in his resignation. Again, it was said that he had 
only received a jewel-mounted sword in return 'for his services, and 
that one of his subordinates had been similarly rewarded. One 
thing, however, seemed very certain, which was that the geneial 
had left Tashkent, and was on his road to St. Petersburg; but 
whether on account of the recent disturbances in Kokan, or for 
General Milutin to consult him with reference to r, further advance 
upon Kashgar, were mooted points, and to -which no one could give 
an answer. In fact, there is no country, perhaps, in the universe, 
where reports are so rife as in Russia. The press is gagged, owing 
to the strict system of censorship which prevails; and The result is 
that gossip runs rampant, each man embellishing the story he has 
heard from his neighbor, when it eventually acquires greater dimen- 
sions, if possible, Than that of the three black crows so happily told 
by Smollett. 

'The letter to General Milutin produced the effect 1 anticipated, 
and the result was a reply, directed, singularly enough, to the British 
Embassy, although I had in my own^letter distinctly written my 
address as Demout's Hotel. The communication was to the effect 
that the commandants in Russian Asia had received orders to aid 



18 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



me in my journey through the territory under their command; but 
that the Imperial Government could not give its acquiescence to the 
extension of my journey beyond Russian territory, as the authorities 
could not answer for the security or the lives of travelers beyond the 
extent of the Emperor's dominions. 

Now this was so self evident a statement that I was much sur- 
prised at* General Milutin for making it. Of course, the Russian 
Government could not be responsible for my safety beyond the Em- 
peror's dominions, any more than could her Majesty's Government 
be responsible for the life of a traveler passing through Natal to 
Central Africa, 

Merve and Herat no more belong to the Emperor of Russia than 
Central Africa to the Queen of Great Britain,; then how coulc! the 
Imperial Government at St Petersburg imagine itself liable for any 
thing happening to me outside Russian territory? 

There were only two inferences to be drawn from the letter — 
either that the general, who is by all accounts a most kind-hearted 
man, valued my life at a greater price than 1 did myself — which 
was exceedingly amiable on his part— or that, for certain military 
and political reasons, he did not wish me to eo to Central Asia, 

I must say that 1 was very much surprised at the way he en- 
deavored to deter me; and Russian officers must be very different 
to English ones, if the mere fact of there being a little risk is suffi 
cieut to stop their traveling. 

1 should have much liked to ask General Milutin one question, 
and to have heard his answer — not given solemnly, as the Eussian 
Chancellor makes his promises, but face to face, and as a soldier 
Would he, when a captain, have turned his face homeward to St, 
Petersburg simply because he was told by a foreign government that 
it could not be responsible for his safety? 1 do not think so; and 
1 have afar higher opinion of the Russian officers than to imagine 
that they would be deterred by such an argument, if used to them 
under circumstances similar to those in which 1 found myself. 

However, there was the letter in black and white. The only 
thing left for me to do was to write and thank the general for per- 
mitting me to travel in Russian Asia, adding in a final postscript 
that 1 should probabh'" return either by Tashkent or Teheran; my 
intention being to go from Khiva to Merve, and so on to Meshed, 
when 1 should have been in Persian territory. 1 could have then 
gone via Herat and Bolan pass to Shikarpoor, and returned either 
through Cachemire, Kashgar, and Tashkent, or by Kabul, Bokhara, 
and Kasala to European Russia. 

The final preparations for the journey were soon made; all my 
superfluous clothes sent back to England; a pair of high cloth 
boots, commonly known as valenki, bought to keep out the cold; 
and the following evening at eight o'clock 1 found myself at the 
railway station, en route for Orenburg. A marvelous ignorance 
seemed to exist amidst the clerks at the booking-office when 1 asked 
them how far the line extended in the direction of that town. Did 
it go to Samara? jSTo. Could 1 take my ticket- to Orenburg? ISTo. 
Well, how far could 1 book? None of them could tell me; so, tak- 
ing a ticket as far as Penza, which 1 knew was on the line, I pro 
ceeded to register my luggage. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



19 



'I he box containing my cartridges struck the attention of an 
official who was standing beside the scales; and " Pray what may 
this be?" he observed, looking suspiciously at the case. " It is very 
heavy." 

He was quite right; cartridges are heavy, and the four hundred 
which made up my ammunition— and which traveled to Khiva and 
back again— were often a source of gieat annoyance to myself as 
well as my camels. 

4£ They are little things which contain some lead," 1 answered.' 
" OhS instruments which contain some lead," he said. " Yes," 1 
replied; "very useful instruments; pray be careful with them." 
Upon which he gave me the receipt 

The cairiages between St. Petersburg and Moscow are, if possible, 
more commodious than those which run from the capital to the 
Geiman frontier. 'They are also well supplied with sleeping com- 
partments^ so the journey can be performed as comfortably as if 
traveling in a Cunard steamboat. 

Upon taking my seat, two ladies, dressed in the deepest black, 
entered the carriage and solicited subscriptions from the different 
passengers for the wounded insurgents in Herzegovina. 

" I suppose some of this money will go to the maintenance of the 
hale as well as the sick/ 1 observed a fellow- traveler. "Poor fel- 
lows, they want arms very badly." 

"I would give anything to drive out those Mussulmans," re- 
marked his companion, producing a well-filled purse, and making 
a large donation to the fund. 

His example was followed by all the other Kussians in the car- 
riage; and, not wishing to appear conspicuous by not subscribing, 
1 added a trifle, my ms-d-vis saying, " Thank you, brother— it will 
help to keep the sore open: the sooner the Turk falls to pieces, the 
better. What is the good of our having a fleet on the Black Sea un- 
less we can command the Dardanelles? And the longer this affair 
continues in Herzegovina, the more likely we are to reach Constan- 
tinople." 

" What will the English say to this?" \ inquired. " Oh, Eng- 
land! she goes for nothing now," be replied. " She is so bent upon 
money-making that it will take a great deal of kicking to. make her 
fight. Why, she did not do anything when Gortschakoff repudi- 
ated the Black Sea treaty," 

" He " (Gortschakoff) " chose the right time for this," added a fel- 
low-traveler : " it was just after Sedan." 

"After Sedan or before Sedan," continued the first speaker, "it 
would have been all the same. England is like an overfed bull: 
she haslost the use of her horns." 

" What of her fleet?" 1 inquired. " "Well, what can she do with 
it?" was the answer. " She can block up the Baltic — but the frost 
does that for six months in the yeai ; and she can prevent the corn 
from our Southern provinces reaching her own markets; bread will 
be dearer in London, that is all, England will not land troops in 
the Crimea again." 

"God grant that she may," said another; "our railway to 
Sevastopol is now open." 

I here remarked that England was not likely to declare war with- 



20 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



out having an ally. " But what if Germany or Austria were to ioin 

her?" 

" As for those pigs of Germans, we must fight them some day or 
other," replied the previous speaker; " and when tlie Tzarevitch is 
emperor, please God we will beat them well, and drive every Ger- 
man brute out of Russia: they fatten on our land at the expense of 
our brothers." 

But supposing they get the best of it?" 

** Well, what can they do? Ihev can not stop in Russia, even if 
they should be able to assail us. We can play the old game; keep 
on retiring. Russia is big, and there is plenty of country at our 
back." 

6< Ihev might take the Baltic provinces," I remarked. 

" Take them! 1 hope Gortschakoff will give them to Bismarck 
before long, and arrange that Germany does not interfere with us 
when we march upon Constantinople/' said another of the travelers. 

" Arrange with Bismarck! Tou might as well arrange with the 
devil !" said tne first speaker. " He will take everything he can, 
and give us nothing. He is the greatest enemy we have— except, 
peiliaps, the people at Vienna! However, they' do not count for 
much; as with the Czechs and Hungarians, they have plenty on 
their hands; but we must give those Austrians a beating before 
long." 

" Which would be most popular — a war with Austria, or one with 
Germany?" I inquired. 

" With Austria," was the unanimous reply, " because we know 
that w e can march to Yieuna without any difficulty. We are not 
prepared for Germany ; our army is not yet sufficiently organized to 
compete with Moltke's forces. We must bide our time. Besides 
this, the Emperor likes his uncle too much. When the Tzarevitch 
is on ihe throne, then we shall have a war. Bismarck, too, does 
not want to fight at present. He would like to see Russia fight Eng- 
land, Austria and Tuikey. The old fox would sit still himself, 
and do nothing. But if we got the best of Austria, he would take 
Vienna and Holland as his share of the spoil, and as a reward for 
his exertions; while, if we were beaten, he would take the Baltic 
provinces. But perhaps you are a German," said one of the travelers. 
" No, I am an Englishman," was my answei, " and 1 am very 
much obliged to 3 T ou for this interesting conversation." 

Moscow was reached early the following morning; when, finding 
that there would be no train till the afternoon to Penza, 1 took a 
sleigh, and drove to call on her Majesty's consul, a Mr. Leslie, whose 
acquaintance I had made dining a previous visit to Moscow. His 
post is a purely honorary one, but perhaps in no other consulate in 
Europe is so much hospitality shown to Englishmen. Mr. Leslie, 
from his long residence in Russia, is well acquainted with the char- 
acter of the people with whom he has to deal, and is a very valuable 
member of our Foreign Office. 

Moscow, with its wide streets, its long distances from one part of 
the city to another, its world-renowned Kremlin, the palaces of its 
nob'es^ embracing vast suites ot apartments, parquet floors, and 
almost Oriental magnificence, has so often been described by 
travelers, that 1 w r ill not trouble my reader with a description. If i 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



21 



were to do so, it would be the account of what 1 had seen during 
previous visils, and not the experiences of my present journey. A.s 
it was, 1 had barely time to pay a rapid visit to my friends at the 
consulate, chink a glass of tea in the Moscow Traktir, and hear a 
well-remembered tune ironi the old organ in that time-honored 
restaurant, when I was once mote dashing through the streets to the 
station, my half-drunken Jehu shouting out at the top of his voice 
" Beregi/ beregi'" (take care). He generally contrived to utter the 
warning sound just after he had driven into the sleigh of some fel- 
low-Jehu, who, in return for the collision, used that peculiar class 
of language which is not confineft to Russian drivers, but is fre- 
quently made use of by cabmen in London streets. 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the track again, but this time alone in my compartment till 1 
was joined by an official whose business it was to inspect the line 
between Moscow and Riazan. His cMet object was to find out if 
any unnecessary delays took place at the different stations on this 
railway, a number of complaints having been lately made about the 
unpunctuality of the trains. It was supposed to be the station-mas- 
ters' fault, and that these officials, being slack in the performance 
of their duty, were the main cause of the delay., " I could easily 
find them nut," iemarked the inspector, "if it were not for the con- 
founded telegraph, but that beats me; for the rogues are all in col- 
lusion the one with the other, and as soon as ever they see me on the 
platform they telegraph the intelligence to their brethren down the 
line." 

It appears that there used formerly to he a great deal of fraud 
committed on the railway compauies in Russia by the guards of the 
trains, who would ask a passenger, wnen about to take his ticket at 
the booking-office, " What class are you going by?" If by the first 
or second, the guard would say, " Take a third class ticket; give me 
a few rubles, and 1 will let you go first-class, as 1 am guard of the 
train by which you will travel." But, according to the inspector, 
this system of roguery has now been put down, and the result is a 
better return on the railway capital, although up to the present time 
the lines have been anything but remunerative to investors. From 
the inspector I found out that I ought to have taken my ticket to 
Sizeran, which was the terminus of the line in the direction of Oren- 
burg, but that it was too late now to pay the difference, and that I 
must wait till we arrived at Penza, when I should just have time 
to get a new ticket, and relabel my luggage. 

It was a bitterly cold night, in spite of all our furs; and at Riazan, 
where it was necessary to wait an hour, and to I'nnge trains, a fel- 
low-traveler, a Russian nobleman, who had got .mo the carriage at 
an intermediate station, was very indignant with the stoker whose 
business it was to keep up the fire, and repeatedly called him a son 
of an animal, the culprit trembling and crying out as if he were 
under the lash of a whip. 

It will take a good many more years to thoroughly eliminate the 
old spirit of serfdom in Russia, although the law has long ceased to 



22 



A RIDE TO KHIVA, 



exist, and the men who have been brought up as slaves find it diffi- 
cult to get rid of a feeling of awe when they are in the presence of 
their superiors. Perhaps it is as well that things follow on ic this 
groove, tor it would be a bitter day for Russia should the socialistic 
and nihilist tendencies which are being developed in her larger 
towns become extended amidst her rural population. At the present 
moment the love for the Emperor predominates over every feeling 
but one amidst the peasantry; and this devotion to their Father, as 
he is termed, is well deserved, for the Emperor Alexander under- 
went an enormous personal risk when, at one stroke of the pen, he 
did away with slavery in his dominions. It was a step which re- 
quired gieat moral courage on the part of its originator, and few 
emperors would have risked mortally offending the upper classes of 
the country, even to do an act of justice to the lower. 

Probably the only influence which could be brought to bear upon 
a peasant's mind to such au extent that 1 believe it would counter- 
balance his affection for the Tzar, is the religious one. In perhaps 
no country in the world has this element so powerful a swav as in 
Russia. In religion, coupled with superstition, lay a power which 
could even thwart the wishes of the Emperor Nicholas himself; and 
:he ecclesiastical hierarchy is certainly more powerful than the Tzar. 
Jlitherto the two dominant influences have gone hand in glove to- 
gether; and it is as well that it should be so, for any rupture be- 
tween them would inevitably lead to a revolution. 

In the waiting-room at Riajsk waiters were hurrying about with 
glasses of scalding tea, which were eagerly called for by the traveler. 
In fact, the amount of this beverage, that a Russian can drink is 
somewhat astonishing to the stranger, and the traditional washer- 
woman of our country, whose capabilities in this respect are sup- 
posed to be unrivaled, would have no chance whatever if pitted 
against a subject of the Tzar t A large samovar (a brass urn) st-iod 
on the refreshment-table, the water being kept to a boiling-point, 
not by a spirit-lamp, as in England, but by a funnel, which fitted 
into the center of the urn, and was filled with red hot charcoal. 
Economy was evidently the order of the day with some of the trav- 
eleis; for, instead of putting the sugar in their glasses, they would 
take a lump in their mouths, and thus sweeten the scalding 
draught. 

- 1 took advantage of our delay at Riajsk, and walked through the, 
other waiting-rooms. These were crammed with third-class pas- 
sengers. It was a strange sight to see the mixture of different 
nationalities, which, huddled together like sheep, lay in different 
attitudes on the floor. Here a Tartar merchant, his head covered 
With a small yellow fez, while a long party-colored gown and pair 
of high Doots completed his attire, was fast asleep in a corner. A 
woman, covered with a thick white veil, lay folded in his arms; 
while a child, enveloped in a bundle of rags, was playing with the 
fur cap of its parent. Next to them a man, whose peculiarly shaped 
nose showed a distinct relationship to the tribe of Israel, was breath- 
ing hard through his nasal organ. From time to time he clutched 
convulsively at a small leather bag, which, half hidden beueath a 
greasy -looking black coat, was, even in his dreams, a source of anx- 
iety. Peasants in every posture, their well-knit frames clad in un- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



23 



tanned leather, which was tightly girt about their loins with narrow 
leather belts studded with buttons of brass and silver, re-ecboed the 
Hebrew's melody. An old Bokharan in flowing robes sat listlessly, 
with his legs twisted up under him, beside the stove. He appeared 
to be under the influence of opium, and was possibly dreaming of 
celestial houris and bliss to come; while a smart-looking lad— per- 
haps his son, judging from the likeness between them — had with- 
drawn a little from the rest of the throng, apparently not very well 
pleased by his vicinity to the Russian peasants. 

The Mohammedans of Central Asia have certainly one great ad- 
vantage over the moujik, and that is in their love for water; indeed, 
if the Russian peasant could only be persuaded to be a little more 
j particular in his ablutions, it would be conducive, if not to his own 
'comfort, at least to that of his fellow-travelers. Superstition and 
dirt are twin brothers in Russia; and 1 have frequently observed 
that the more particular a peasant in his adoration of the various 
idols {obrazye) which are prominently displayed on the threshold of 
every collage, the more utterly he is forgetful of the advantages of 
soap and water. 

At Penza 1 had barely time to secure another ticket on to Sizeran, 
where my railway traveling would terminate, and presently found 
myself in a large saloon carriage. Here almost every seat was taken, 
and the porters had piled upon them some railway bags and parcels 
belonging to passengers traveling in another carriage. These arti- 
cles had been put in while the owners were in the waiting-rooms, 
the object being to diminish the length of the train. This was at- 
taineil, but at the cost of considerable discomfort to the travelers 
who were eagerly searching for their lost property by the dim light 
of a smoky tallow dip. 

In the course of conversation with one of the party, a tall and very 
stout middle-aged man, I discovered that my shortest route to Oren- 
burg would be through Samara. He said that he was going to the 
last-mentioned town, and proposed that we should hire a troika — a 
three horse sleigh — and travel together. 1 readily embraced the 
offer, when atter a few hours' more traveling we stepped out on the 
platform of the station at Sizeran. Here my companion was evi- 
dently welt known, for the railway officials and porters respectfully 
saluted him, and hastened to bring our luggage to the waiting-room. 
I must say that 1 was surprised to find so good a refreshment-room 
so far from the capital, as, with but very short halts for the purpose 
of changing trains, we had been traveling for more than sixty hours, 
and all this time in the direction of Asia, on nearing which you ex- 
pect at each stride to leave civilization further and further in your 
wake. But the buffet at Sizeran left nothing to be desired; and in 
a very short time as good a breakfast was supplied as could be ob- 
tained in any French restaurant. 

We now had to think over the preparations for our sleigh journey, 
and after a little bargaining my companion made arrangements with 
a farmer in the neighborhood to supply us with a sleigh and relays 
of horses as far as Samara. The distance is about eighty- five miles, 
and there is no regular government postal station between the two 
towns. 



k RIDE TO K.HIVJL. 



CHAPTER V. 

" You had better put on plenty ot clothes," was the Iriendly cau- 
tion 1 received troin mv companion as 1 entered the dressing room, 
** lor the thermometer marKs twenty decrees below zero, Reaumur, 
and there is a wind." People in this country who have never ex- 
perienced a Russian winter have little idea of the difference even 
a slight breeze makes when the mercury stands low in the ther- 
mometer, for the wind then cuts through you, furs and all, and pene- 
trates to the very bones. Determining to be on my guard against 
the frost, 1 dressed myself, as I thought, as warmly as possible, and 
so as to be utterly impervious to the elements. 

First came three pairs of the thickest stockings, drawn up high 
above (he knee, and over them a pfcir of fur-lined Idw shoes, which 
in their turn were inserted into leather goloches, my limbs being 
finally deposited in a pair of enormous cloth boots, the latter reach- 
ing up to the thigh. Previou-iv 1 had put on some extra thick 
drawers and a pair of trousers, the astonishment ot the foreman of 
Messrs. Kino's establishment, "Lord love ynu, sir," being his re- 
mark when itrieu them on. " no cold can get through them trousers, 
anyhow!" I must confess that 1 rather chuckled as my legs assumed 
herculean proportions, and 1 thought that 1 should haveagood lauirh 
at the wind, no matter how cutting it might be; but iEolus had the 
laugh on his side before the journey was over. A heav}' flannel 
under-shirt, and shirt covered by a thick wadded waistcoat and coat, 
encased my boily, which was further enveloped in a huge shuba, or 
fur pelisse reaching to the heels, while my head was protected with 
a fur cap and vashlik, a sort of cloth head-piece of a conical shade 
made to cover the cap, and having two long ends which tie round 
the t hi oat. 

Being thus accoutered in all my armor, 1 sailed forth to join my 
compnnion, who, an enormous man naturally, now seemed a very 
Colossus ot Rhodes in his own winter attire. How people would 
have laughed if they could have seen us in Piccadilly in our cos- 
tumes! " 1 think you will do," said my friend, scanning me well 
over; " but you will find your feet get veiy cold, for all that. It 
takes a clay or so to get used to this sleigh traveling; and, though 
1 am only going a little beyond Samara, 1 shall be uncommonly glad 
when my journey is over." 

He was buckling on his revolver; and as we were informed that 
there were a great many wolves in the neighborhood, 1 tried, to do 
the same; but this was an impossibility; the man who made the 
belt had never foreseen the gigantic proportions my waist would 
assume when clad in this Russian garb. 1 was obliged to give it up 
in despair, and contented myself by strapping the weapon outside 
my saddle-bags. 

For provisions for possibly a thirty-six hours' journey, and as 
nothing could be bought to eat ->n t he-road, 1 provided myself with 
some cutlets and chicken, which fitted capitally into the mess $ins, 
while my companion agreed to furnish the tea and bread, the former 



A SIDE TO KHIVA, 



25 



an article without which no true Russian will ever travel. He had 
not much baggage with him, and my own was reduced to as little as 
possible; but we soon discovered that ii was impossible to stow 
away the luggage in the first sleigh that had been brought for our 
inspection, for when my railway bag, saddle-bags, cartridge-box, 
gun, and sleeping-sack had been put inside and were well covered 
with straw, I essayed to sit upon them, but found that there was 
too little distance from the improvised seat to the roof, and my back 
was nearly bent double in consequence. 

" Bring out another sleigh," said my friend. "How the wind 
cuts! does it not?" he continued, as the breeze, whistling against 
oui bodies, made itself ielt in spite of all the precautions we had 
taken. The vehicle now brought was broader and more commo- 
dious than the previous one, which, somewhat in the shape of a 
coffin, seemed especially designed so as to torture the occupants, 
paiticularly if, like my companion and self, they should happen to 
be endowed by nature with that curse dining a sleigh journey — 
however desirable appendages they may be when in a crowd — long 
legs. Three horses abreast, their coats white with pendent ieicles 
and hoar-frost, were harnessed lo the sleigh; the center animal was 
in the shafts, and had his head fastened to a huge wooden head-col 
Jar, bright with various colors. From the summit of the head collar 
was suspended a bell, while the two outside horses were harnessed 
by cord traces to spLinter-bars attached to the sides of the sleigh. 
The object of all this is to make the animal in the middle trot at a 
brisk pace, while his two companions gallop, their necks arched 
round in a direction opposite to the horse in the center, this poor 
beast's head being tightly reined up to the head-collar. 

A well-turned-out troika with three really good horses, which get 
over the ground at the rate of twelve miles an hour, is a pretty sight 
to witness, particularly if the team has been property trained, and 
the outside animals never attempt to break into a trot, while the one 
in the shafts steps forward with high action > but the constrained 
position in which the horses are kept must be highly uncomfortable 
to them, and one not calculated to enable a driver to get as much 
speed out of his animals as they could give him if harnessed in an- 
other manner. 

Off we went at a brisk pace, the bell dangling from our horse's 
head-oo'lar and jingling merrily at every stride of the team. 

The sun rose high in the heavens; it. was a bright and glorious 
morning in spite of the intense cold, and the amount of oxygen we 
inhaled was enough to elevate the spirits of the most d3 r speptic of 
mankind. Presently, after descending a slight declivity, our Jehu 
turned sharply to the right: then came a scramble and succession 
of jolts and jerks as we slid down a steep bank, and we found our- 
selves on what, appeared to be a broad high-road. Here the sight of 
many masts and shipping which, Jbound in by the . iron fetters of a 
relentless winter, would remain imbedded in the ice till the ensuing 
spring, showed me that we were on the Volga It was an animated 
spectacle, this frozen highway, thronged with peasauts who strode 
beside their sledges, which were bringing cotton and other goods 
from Orenburg to the railway. Now a smart troika would dash by 
us, its driver shouting as he passed, when our Jehu, stimulating his 



26 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



steeds by loud cries and frequent applications of the whip, would 
vainly strive to overtake his brother coachman. Old and young 
alike seemed like octogenarians, their short thick beards and n:us- 
taches being white as hoar-frost from the congealed breath. Accord- 
ing to all accounts tne river had not been long frozen, and till very 
recently steamers laden with corn from Southern Russia had plied 
between Sizeran and Samara. The price of corn is here foity copecks 
the pood of forty pounds,, while the same quantity at Samara could 
be purchased tor eighteen copecks. An iron bridge was being con- 
structed a little further down the Volga. Here the railroad was to 
pass, and it was said that in two years' time there would be railway 
communication, not only between Samara and the capital, but even 
as far as Orenburg. 

Presently the scenery became very picturesque as we raced over 
the glistening surface, which flashed like a burnished cuirass be- 
neath the rays of the rising sun. Now we approach a spot where 
seemingly the waters from some violent blast or other had been in a 
state of foam and commotion, when a stern frost transformed them 
into a solid mass. Pillars and blocks of the shining and hardened 
elements were seen modeled into a thousand quaint and grotesque 
patterns. Here a fountain, perfectly formed with Ionic and Doric 
columns, w T as reflecting a thousand prismatic hues from the dia- 
mond-like stalactites which had attached themselves to its crest. 
There a huge obelisk, which, if of stone, might have come from 
ancient Thebes, lay half buried beneath a pile of fleecy snow. 
Further on we came to what might have been a Roman temple or 
vast hall in the palace of a Cisesar, where many half-hidden pillars 
and monuments erected their tapering summits above the piles of the 
debris. The wind had done in that northern latitude what has been 
performed by some violent pre-adamite agency in the Bei ber desert. 
Take away tne ebon blackness of the stony masses which have been 
there cast forth from the bowels of the earth and replace them on a 
smaller scale by the crystal forms 1 have faintly attempted to de- 
scribe, and the resemblance would be striking. 

Now we came to some fishing-huts, which were constructed on 
the frozen river, the traffic in the finny tribe which takes place in this 
part of Russia being very great, the Volga producing the sterlet (a 
fish unknown in other livers of Europe) in large quantities. 1 have 
often eaten them, but must say 1 could never appreciate this so-called 
delicacy. The bones are of a very glutinous nature, and can b^ 
easily masticated, while the taste of a sterlet is something between 
that of a barbel and a peich, the muddy flavor of the former pre- 
dominating. However, the} r are an expensive luxury, as, to be in 
perfection for the table, tney should be taken out of the water alive 
and put at once into the cooking-pot. The distance to St. Peters- 
burg from the Volga is considerable, and a good-sized fish will often 
cost from thirty to forty rubles, and sometimes even a great deal 
more. 

In most of the restaurants in the capital the proprietors keep ster- 
let alive in small ponds. f Ihe intending purchaser goes there to 
select a fish for his dinner, the owner of the restaurant dragging it 
out of the water with a landing net for his customer's inspection. 

" The Cossacks Of the Ural have a singular way of catching stur- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



27 



geon," observed ray companion, " and it is a method, I believe, un- 
known in any other part of Europe. At certain times in the winter, 
the men assemble in large numbers by the side of the river, and, 
dismounting fiom their horses, cut a deep trench across the stream 
from one of its banks to the other. Then they lower their nets into 
the water, and arrange them so as to block up the entire channel, 
when, getting on their horses, they will ride for seven or eight miles 
along the banks. They then form a line of horsemen reaching 
from shore to shore, and gallop down in the direction of the nets. 
The fish hearing the clatter of a thousand hoofs, swim away from 
^he sound, and dart like lightning in the opposite direction. Here 
'their course is at once arrested, and they become entangled in the 
j trammels. The quantity of sturgeon is at times so large." he con- 
Itinued, "that the sheer weight of the fish is sufficient to force a 
passage through the nets, a blank day being the result to the fish- 
ermen." 

In England the sturgeon is looked upon as being rather coarse 
eating, and as unfit tor the table, but in Russia it is highly appreci- 
ated "and when served up in cold slices with jelly and horse-radish 
sauce, it is by no means to be despised, aud ] have eaten many a 
worse dish this side of the Channel. The part of the sturgeon 
most liked by the Russians is the roe (the far-famed caviare), and a 
Russian will take this out while the fish is almost alive, and devour 
it with the greatest gusto, for the fresher the caviare is, the most it 
is liked. There are three kinds of caviare in Russia— the quite 
fresh, when no salt whatever has been added; then the slightly salted, 
which is the caviare generahy exported to this country and to other 
parts of Europe; and finally the pressed caviare, which is the second 
quality pressed into cakes. This is used tor sandwiches and other 
relishes. A little pressed or fresh caviare and a glass or so of Rus- 
sian vodki, take a minute before sitting down to the dinner-table, 
give a wonderful stimulus to the appetite, and a strong incentive to 
thirst. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The road now changed its course, and our driver directed his 
steeds toward the bank. Suddenly we discovered that immediately 
in front of us the ice had broken beneath a horse and sleigh, and 
that the animal was struggling in the water. The river here was 
fortunately only about four feet deep, so there would not be such 
difficulty in extracting the quadruped ;" but what to ourselves seemed 
far more important was to solve the knotty problem of hotv to get 
to land; tor between our sleigh and the shore was a wide gulf, and 
there seemed to be no possibility of driving through it without a 
wetting. " Pleasant," muttered my companion, "pleasant, very J 
Let us get out and have a good look around, to see if we can not 
find a place where we can get across in safety." 

" 1 will pull you through," observed our Jehu, with a broad grin 
on his lobster- colored countenance, and apparently much amused 
with the state of things. 

" No, O son.ot an animal," retorted my companion: ** stay here 
till we return." 



28 



Jl kide to khita. 



Alter considerable search we found a spot where the water chan- 
nel was certainly not much more than twelve teet across, and some 
peasants who were fishing in the river, came up and volunteered 
their assistance. One of them produced a pole about eight teet long, 
with which, he said, we could jump the chasm. My companion 
looked at me with a melancholy smile, in which resolution and 
caution struggled for the mastery. "It is very awful," he said, 
" very awful; but there is no other alternative, and I much fear that 
we must." 

With these words he seized the pole, and carefully inserted one 
end of it in the muddy bottom. " If the ice gives way when 1 land 
on the other side!" he suddenly observed, releasing his hold of the 
leaping-bar. " Why, if it does, you will get a ducking,". was my 
remark; but be quick; the longer you look at it, the less you will 
like it; and it is very cold standing here; now then, jump over." 

" 1 have just been thinking," went on my companion, " whether 
it would not be better to be pulled through in a sleigh, for then 1 
shall only get the bottom part of my body wet; but if the confounded 
ice breaks— which must also be taken into consideration, for 1 am 
not at all light" (this was certainly the case, as with his furs and 
other clothes he must have weighed at least twenty stou£), " nor am 
1 so active as 1 was ; why. 1 shall get in, and very likely be frozen 
to death in consequence," 

At this moment his apprehensions were very nearly realized; for 
the ice, giving way under one of his feet, let it in to about a foot of 
water, when, retracing his steps rapidly, my companion remarked, 
" 1 shall be dragged through, and not for all the joys of Paradise 
will 1 intrust myself to that confounded pole." 

It was an awful moment, and 1 can not say that I relished the 
situation. There are minutes in a man's lite when the heart has a 
strong inclination to jump into his mouth. It is a very disagreeable 
sensation, and one which 1 have sometimes experienced when riding 
at a Leicestershire so-called bullfinch, not being quite aware of 
what was on the other side; but then there was a gallery of other 
men looking; on — a wonderful incentive — while this time there were 
no spectators save a few grinning moujikis and my companion, 
who, as he had not faced the obstacle himself, thought that it would 
be better and more dignified it I were to follow his example. 

Dignity appeared to me to be out of the question, particularly 
when placed between the two alternatives of being dragged through 
the water oi risking a jump into the channel. It was a disagreeable \ 
choice, but I selected the latter, at the same time heing a little an- 
noyed at the chaffing remarks of the grinning peasants, who, greatly 
enjoying our discomfiture, were passing sotto wee observations on 
the size of my companion and myself, eminently true but highly 
disrespectful. " How fat they are!" said one. " No, it's their turs," 
observed another. "-How awkward he is!" continued a third; 
" wh} r , 1 could jump it myself," "1 tell you what it is, my 
friend," 1 at length observed, " if you continue this conversation, I 
think it very likely you will jump either over or in, tor 1 want to 
find out the' exact distance, and am thinking of throwing you over 
first, in order to satisfv my mind as to how wide it is, and how 
deep." 



A. RIDE TO KHITA. 



29 



This remark, uttered in rather a sharp tone, had the desired effect, 
and, seizing the pole convulsively, 1 prepared lor the leap, which, 
nothing to a man not clad in furs, was by no means a contemptible 
one in my sleigh attire. One, two, three! a bound, a sensation ot 
flying through the air, a slip, a scramble, and 1 found myself on 
the other side, having got over with no more damage than one wet 
leg, the boot itself* being instantly covered with a shining case of ice. 

" Come along quick," cried my friend, who by this time had been 
dragged through; " let us get on as quickly as possible;" and with- 
out giving me time to see it my cartridges or other baggage on th< 
bottom of the sleigh had suffered from the ducking, we rattled off 
once more in the direction of Samara. 

Estates have become much dearer in the neighborhood of Sizeran 
since the railway has been opened up to that town, and a desyatin , 
of the land (2700 acres) now costs twenty rubles, while in Samara it 
can be purchased for half that price. Land gives a good return for 
the capital invested upon it in Russia, and a proprietor thinks that 
he has reason to grumble it he does not receive from six to eight 
per cent, on the purchase money, clear ana free from any deductions. 

An English gentleman, a well known M.P., foreseeing the lise 
which will take place in the value of property near Samara, has 
bought a large and beautiful estate in that neighborhood. According 
to my companion, he will doable the capital invested should he in 
the course ot two or three years wish to part with his purchase. 

We were now gradually nearing our first halting-place, where it 
was arranged that we should change horses. This was a farm-house 
known by the name of Nijnege Pegersky Hootor, twenty-five versts 
distant from Sizeran. Some men were engaged in winnowing corn 
in a yard hard by the dwellings; and the system they employed to 
separate the husks from the grain probably dates from before the 
flood, tor, throwing the corn up nigh into the air with a shovel, they 
let the wind blow away the husks, and the grain descended on to 
a carpet set to catch it in the fall. It was then considered to be 
sufficiently winnowed, and fit to be sent to the mill. The farm- 
house was fairly clean, and for a wonder, there were no live animals 
inside the dwelling. It is no uncommon thing in farm-houses in 
Russia to find a calf domesticated in the sitting-room of the family, 
and this more particularly during the winter months. But here ihe 
good housewife permitted no such intruders, and the boards were 
clean and white, thus showing that a certain amount of scrubbing 
was the custom. 

The habitation, which was of a square shape, and entirely made 
of wood, contained two good-sized but iow rooms, a large stove 
made of dried clay being so arranged as to warm both the apart- 
ments. A heavy wooden door on the outside of the building gave 
access to a small portico, at the other end ot which there was the 
customary obraz, or irna^e, which is to be found in almost every 
house in Russia. These obrazye are made of different pal terns, but 
generally take the form of a picture of saints or of the Trinity. 
They are executed in silver-gilt or brass relief, and adorned with 
tawdry fringe or other gewgaws. The repeated bows and crosses 
made by the peasantry before these idols is very surprising to un 
.Englishman, who may have been told that there is little difference 



30 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



between the Greek religion and his own; but if this is the case, the 
sooner the second commandment is omitted from our service the 
better. It may be said that the Russian peasantry only look upon 
these images as symbols, and that in reality they are praying to the 
living God. Let any one who indulges in Ihis delusion tiavel in 
Russia and talk to the inhabitants with reference to the obrazye, or 
go to Kiev at the time of a pilgrimage to the mummified saints in 
that sanctuary, and ] think he will then say that no country in the 
world is so imbued with superstitious credences as Russia. 

Above the stove, which was about five feet high, a platform of 
boaids had been erected at a distance of about three feet from the 
ceiling. This was the sleeping resort of the family, and occasion- 
ally used for drying clothes during the day. The Russian moujik 
likes this platform more than any other part of tne habitation, and 
his great delight is to lie there and perspire prcfusel}-, after which he 
finds himself the better able to resist the cold of the elements outside. 
The farm-house in which 1 now found myself had cost in building 
two hundred rubles, about twenty-six pounds of our money, and 
her home was a source of pride to the good housewife, who could 
read and write, an accomplishment not often possessed by the 
women of this class in the provinces of Russia. 

By this time our former team had been replaced by three fresh 
horses, and the driver who was to accompany us had nearly finished 
making his own preparations tor the sleigh journey. Several long 
bands of cloth, first carefully warmed at the stove, were successively 
wound round his feet, and then having put on a pair of thick boots 
and stuffed some hay into a pair of much larger dimensions he 
drew the latter on as well, when, wiih a thick sheep-skin coat, cap, 
and vashlik, he declared that he was ready to start. 

The cold was very intense when we quitted the threshold, and the 
thermometer had fallen several degrees during the last half -hour; 
the wind had also increased, and it howled and whistled against the 
eaves of the farm-house, bearing millions of minute snowy flakes 
before it in its course. Presently the sound of a little stamping on 
the bottom of the sleigh announced to me that the cold had pene- 
trated to my companion's feet, and that he was endeavoring to keep 
up the circulation. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Very soon that so-called " pins-and-needles " sensation, recalling 
some snow-balling episodes of my boyish days, began once more to 
make itself felt, and I found myself commencing a sort of double- 
shuffle against the boards of the vehicle. The snow was falling in 
thick flakes, and with great difficulty our driver could keep the 
track, his jaded horses sinking sometimes up to the traces in the 
rapidly forming drifts, and floundering heavily along the now thor 
oughly hidden road. The cracks of his whip sounded like pistol- 
shots against their jaded flanks, and volumes of invectives issued 
irom his lips. 

' 4 Oh, sons of animals!"— (wback). 

" Oh, spoiled one!"— (whack). This to a brute which looked as 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



31 



if he had never eaten a good feed of corn in his life. " Oh, woolly 
ones! "—(whack! whack! whack!). 

" O Lord God!" This as we were all upset into a snow-drift, the 
sleigh being three-parts overturned, and our Jehu precipitated in the 
opposite direction. 

" How far are we from the next halting-place?" suddenly inquired 
my companion, with an ejaculation which showed that even his 
good temper had given way under the cold and oar situation. 

"Only four versts, one of noble birth," replied the struggling^ 
Jehu, who was busily engaged endeavoring to right the half-over J 
turned sleigh. A Kussian verst about night-fall, and under such- 
conditions as 1 have endeavored to point out to the reader, is an un- 
known quantity. A Scotch mile and a bit, an Irish league, a Span * 
ish legua, or the German stunde, are at all times calculated to call 
forth the wrath of the traveler, but in no way equal to the first- 
named division of distance. For the verst is barely two thirds of an 
English mile, and when, after driving yet for an hour, we were told 
that there were still two versts more before we could arrive at our 
halting-place, it began fully to dawn upon my friend that either our 
driver's knowledge of distance, or otherwise his veracity was at 
fault. 

At last we reached a long, straggling village, formed of houses 
constructed much in the same way as that previously described, 
when our horses stopped before a detached cottage. The proprietor 
came out to meet us at the threshold. " Samovar, samovar, samo- 
var!" (un), said my companion. "Quick, quick! samovar!" and 
hurrying by him, and hastily throwing off our furs, we endeavored 
to regain our lost circulation beside the walls of a well-heated 'stove. 

In a few minutes, and when the blood had begun once more to 
flow in its proper channels, I began to look round and observe the 
other occupants of the room. These were for the most part Jews, 
as could easily be seen by that peculiarity of the nose which unfail- 
ingly denotes any member of the tribe of Israel. Some half-open 
boxes of wares in the corner also showed their trade. The men 
were hawkers of fancy jewelry and other finery calculated, to please 
the wives of the farmers or better -to-do peasants in the neighborhood. 

The smell wo anything but agreeable, and the stench of sheep 
skins, unwashed humanity, and some oily cooking going on in a 
very dirty frying-pan, at last caused my companion to inquire if 
there was no other room vacant. We were shown into a small ad- 
joining apartment, where the smell, though very pungent, was not 
quite so disagreeable as in the one inhabited by the family.. " This 
is a little better," muttered my companion, unpacking bis portman- 
teau, and taking out a tea-pot, with two small metal cases contain- 
ing tea and sugar. "Quick, Tetka, Aunt!" he cried (this to the 
old woman of the house), "quick with the samovar!" when an 
aged female, who might have been any age from eighty to a hun- 
dred, for she was almost bent double by decrepitude, carried in a 
large copper urn, the steam hissing merrily under the influence of 
the red-hot charcoal embers. 

By this time 1 had unstrapped the mess tins, and was extracting 
their contents. " Let me be the carver," said my friend, at the same 
time trying to cut one of the cutlets with a knife; but he might as 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



well have tried to pierce an iron-clad with a pea-shooter, tor the 
meat was turned into a solid lump of ice. It was as hard as a brick- 
bat, and when we tried the bread it was equally impenetrable^ in 
fact, it was only after our provisions had been' placed within the 
stove for about ten minutes that they became in any way eatable. In 
the meantime my companion had concocted a most delicious brew, 
and with a large glass of pale or rather amber-colored tea, with a 
thin slice of lemon floating on the top, 1 was begiuniug to realize 
how pleasant it is to have been made thoroughly uncomfortable, for 
it is only after having arrived at this point of misery that you can 
( thoroughly appreciate what real enjoyment is. " What is pleas- 
ure?" asked a pupil of his master. "Absence of pain," was the 
T philosopher's answer; and let any one who doubts that a feeling of 
intense enjoyment can be obtained from drinking a mere glass of 
tea, try a sleighing journey through Russia with the thermometer 
at 20°*Reaumur and a wind. 

In almost an hour's time we were ready to start, but not so our 
driver; ana to the expostulations of my companions he replied, 
" No, little father, there is a snow storm; we might be lost, and 1 
might be frozen. O Lord God! there are wolves; they might eat 
me; the ice in the river might give way, and we might all be 
drowned. For the sake of God,"let us stop here!" 

" You shall have a good tea present,"* 1 observed, " if you will 
drive us." 

" Oh, one of noble birth," was his answer, " we will stop here 
to-night, and Batooshka, little father, also," pointing to nrv com- 
panion; " but to-morrow we will have beautiful horses, and go like 
birds to the next station." 

It was useless attempting to persuade him. Resigning ourselves 
to our. fate, my companion and self lay down on the planks to obtain 
what sleep could be found, notwithstanding the noise that was go- 
ing on in the next room, tne Jew peddlers being occupied in trying 
to" sell some of their wares, and drive a bargain with the antique 
mistress of the house. Notwithstanding her age., she was keenly 
alive to her own interests, and the shrill female accents mingling 
with the nasal ejaculations of the Hebrews were not at all conducive 
to slumber. 

Presently another peddler, enveloped in sheepskins and covered 
with snow, strode into our room, where he began to cross himself 
* and perform his devotions before an obraz which was attached lo 
one ol the walls. As soou as this act of worship was finished, he 
commenced bargaining with the owner of the house, trying to per- 
suade the man to let him have a horse to drive to the next station at 
a lower rate than the one ordinarily paid. But the proprietor was 
proof against, all this kind of eloquence, and the peddler, finding 
that his entreaties were useless, returned once more to our room, 
and, kicking off bis boots by the side ot my companion's head, an- 
nounced his intention of passiug the night there. This the Russian 
gentleman objected to in very strong terms, tor, in add Hi n to the 
smell ot the peddler's body and his garments, there was good re.^on 
to believe that a vast amount of what it is not necessary here to men- 

* A Russian term for a money gift to an inferior. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



33 



tion Inhabited his beard and clothes. " No, brother,' 5 said my com- 
panion firmly, at the same time taking up the peddler's sheepskin 
between his finger and thumb, when, holding it at arm's-length be- 
lore him, he deposited the filthy garment in the other room. " Go 
there, brother, for the sake of God, and pass the night with your fel- 
lows. " 

It was in vain attempting to sleep; the new arrival had brought a 
still turther element of discord amidst the assembled peddlers. Tfiey 
were a strange party in that room — the proprietor, his mother, his 
wife, and her sister, two or three children, and five peddlers, all 
huddled together promiscuously, and adding by their number to the 
foul air which poisoned the interior of the dwelling. What surprised 
me most was to see how healthy the children looked. I should have 
imagined that they would have been poor, weak, delicate little 
things, but no; and the eldest, a chubby lad about ten years old, ap- 
parently the picture of health, looked as if bad smells and want' of 
ventilation decidedly agreed with him. 

The Russian peasants are not ignorant of the good old maxim 
that the early bird gets the worm, and the few hours' daylight they 
enjoy during the winter months makes it doubly necessary for them 
to observe this precept. We were all up a good hour before sunrise, 
my companion making the tea, while our driver was harnessing the 
horses, but this time not three abreast, for the roaol was bad and 
narrow; so we determined to have two small sleighs with a pair of 
horses to each, and put our luggage in one vehicle while we traveled 
in the other. 

On we went, a motley crew. First, the unwashed peddler who 
had wished to be my companion's bed -fellow the night before; then 
our luggage sleigh; and, finally, my friend and self, who brought 
up the rear, with a careful eye upon our effects, as the people in that 
part of the country were said to have some difficulty in distinguish- 
ing between meum and tuum. 

The sun was bright and glorious, and in no part of the world 
.hitherto visited have I ever seen aurora in such magnificence. First, 
a pale blue streak, gradually extending over the whole of the eastern 
horizon, arose like a wall barring the unknown beyond; then, sud- 
denly changing color until the summit w r as like lapis lazuli, and its 
base a sheet of purple waves of gray and crystal, radiating from the 
•darker hues, relieved the eye, appalled by the vastness of the bar- 
rier; the purple foundations were in turn upheaved by a sea of fire, 
which dazzled the eye with its glowing brilliancy, and the wall of 
colors floating in space broke up into castles, battlements, and towers, 
which were wafted by the breeze far away from our view. The sea 
of flame, meanwhile,- had lighted up the whole horizon; the eye 
quailed beneath the glare. The snowy carpet at our feet reflected 
like a camera the wonderful panorama overhead. Flakes of light in 
rapid succession bound earth to sky, until the globe of sparkling- 
light arising from the depths of this ocean of flame dimmed into in 
■significance the surroundings of the picture. 

Presently a sudden check and exclamation of our Jehu told us that 
the harness had given way, and a conversation, freely interlarded 
with epithets exchanged between the driver and the peddler, showed 
that there was decidedly a difference of opinion between them. It 
a 



A KIDE TO KHIYAc 



appeared that the man of commerce was the only one of the party 
who knew the road, and having discovered this fact, he determined 
to make use of his knowledge by refusing to show the way unless 
the proprietor of the horses who drove the vehicle containing our 
luggage would abate a little from the price he had demanded for the 
hire of the horse in the peddler's sleigh. " A bargain is a bargain !" 
cried our driver, wishing to curry favor with his master, no\v"a few 
yards behind him. "A bargain is a bargain. Oh, thou son of an 
animal, drive on!" "It is very cold," muttered my companion. 
,4 For the sake of God," he shouted, " go on!" But neither the al- 
lusion to the peddler's parentage, nor the invocation of the Deity had 
the slightest effect upon the fellow's mercenary soul. 

" 1 am warm, and well wrapped up," he said; " it is all the same 
to me if we wait here one hour or ten;" and with the most provok- 
ing indifference he commenced to smoke, not even the manner in 
which the other drivers aspersed the reputation of his mother appear- 
ing to have the smallest effect. At last the proprietor, seeing it was 
useless holding out any longer, agreed to abate somewhat from the 
hire of the horse, and once more the journey continued over a break- 
neck country, though at anything but a break-neck pace, until we 
reached the station— a farm-house— eighteen versts from our sleep- 
ing-quarters, and, as we were informed, forty-five from Samara. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Guardian of the Forests stepped into the dwelling while we 
were waiting for fresh horses, and said that there were many wolves 
in th.e neighborhood, and that they did a great deal of damage to 
the flocks, "at the same time informing us that he had shot several 
wolves that winter, and one only two days before. The keeper was 
a well-built, sturdy fellow, and", seeing 'my gun, proposed that we 
should stop a day or two, remarking that he could show us some 
capital sport. But my companion was obliged to hasten to his prop- 
erty ; and as for myself, the 14th of April — the termi nation of my leave 
of absence — rose up like a bugbear in my mind's eye. 

Every day was precious, and 1 had no time, much as 1 should 
have liked to accept tne invitation. About six hours more brought us 
to the river Samara— here a broad stream which runs into the Volga. 
We dashed over a road made on its glistening surface, when the 
driver, pulling up his horses and getting down to tie up the bell on 
the head-collar, informed us that we weie about to enter the town, no- 
bells being allowed within the suburbs, for fear of frightening any 
horses unaccustomed to the tinkle. 

A rapid drive through some fine broad streets— the well-built 
houses announcing that the inhabitants were comfortably oft in this 
world's goods — and five minutes later 1 found myself beneath the 
roof of the Hotel Anaeff , a much better hostelry than 1 should have 
thought to encounter so far from a railway. 

There was no time to be lost, for the day was well advanced, and 
we at once commenced making preparations for our journey onward, 
my fellow-traveler leaving me at this point, as his estate was not on 
the road to Orenburg. 1 was sorry to shake hands with him and to 



A. RIDE TO KHITA. 



35 



-Say good-by, He was a very cheery companion, and a drive over 
the. steppes alone, and without a soul to speak to for several hundred 
■miles, was not an inviting prospect. Mais d la guerre comme d la 
guerre, and the same saying equally applying to a winter journey 
through Russia, 1 resigned myself to the situation, speedily forgetlng 
all caies in the bustle of laying in a stock of provisions for the road, 
and in the search for a sleigh, which 1 had here to buy to convey me 
and my fortunes to Orenburg, or perhaps to Khiva,. 

Presently a coffin-shaped vehicle was driven up for my inspection, 
when I discovered that one of the runners was cracked/ and not in a 
fit state for the journey. The owner of the sleigh used all his elo- 
quence to persuade me that there was an advantage in having a dam- 
aged runner, and seemed much surprised when 1 informed him that 
1 did not share his opinion; however, seeing me^obdurate, he prom- 
ised to have the vehicle repaired, and ready to start by the break of 
day. 

The law of libel is stringently applied in Russia, judging by a par- 
agraph which I saw in a newspaper that evening. It appeared that 
the editor of the magazine " Dalo " had been summoned by a Mi. 
"Weinberg for calling him a beggar. The editor, according to the 
evidence, had previously asked the plaintiff to translate a work. On 
Its completion, Mr. W\ wrote to his employer, requesting the pay- 
ment of fifty rubles, which would make up the difference of the 
■amount due. No answer being returned, he called in person, and 
said he would not leave without the money. Upon this, the editor 
sent him down a ruble note, wrapped up in a piece of paper, on which 
was written, " I give you this for your begging," or words to that 
effect. The advocate for the defense apologized for his client, who, 
lie said, was an old man; but the court, not seeing the point of the 
argument, sentenced the editor to two w T eeks' imprisonment — un- 
doubtedly a well-merited punishment: though in England 1 much 
<loubt if the offender would have even been mulcted in damages 
for the expression. The Russian law tor libel, or rather insult (oskor- 
blenie), is very voluminous, and many words which in this country 
would not come within the statute for libel are followed by r a heavy 
punishment in the Tzar's dominions. 

The people at Samara were looking forward to the rapid comple- 
lion of the railway from Sizeran to that town— the proprietors of 
f land being the most interested in the matter, as then they would be 
' able to obtain a better market for their corn. Provisions were very 
cheap, the best beef only costing seven copecks per pound, and 
bread two and a half copecks, while twenty bottles of vodki could 
be purchased for four rubles; thus enabling the inhabitants of that 
highly favored community to get drunk, if they wished, at even a 
lower rate than that announced on a placard hung some years ago 
outside a public-house in Ratcliff Highway, and couched in the fol- 
lowing terms: "Take notice. — Get drunk and be made happy, all 
for a penny." 

Mutton was even cheaper than beef, and to be bought for six co- 
pecks a pound; while a first-rate cow could be readily purchased for 
thirty rubles, and a hundred fresh eggs for a ruble and a half. When 
1 jotted down the list of prices, which was furnished me by the po- 
lite secretary at; Anaeff's Hotel, 1 began to think that what 1 Uad 



3C 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



read in my boyhood about the latitude and longitude of the Prom- 
ised Land must be a myth. Samara was evidently that much desired 
region, and would be an abode ot bliss to all those melancholy and 
matrimony-in-search of young bachelors who occasionally forward a 
mournful dirge to our daily press, and inquire if a man can marry on 
a hundred a year. Why, of course he can! Only let him go to 
Samara, and he can keep a seraglio into the bargain, provided he 
feeds the ladies on beet and mutton. 

The only country 1 have ever been iu where provisions cost less 
than in Samara was in the Soudan, in Africa. There a fat sheep 
could be purchased for four shillings— a hundred eggs for the same 
price: while on the White ISIile the value even of human beings was 
so depreciated as to be almost incredible; and many people m this 
country will utterly disbelieve that a mother could sell her own child 

" for a small quantity of corn. The lad himself had not a high ouinion 
of his paternal roof; for later on, when his master, an Englishman, 
who was passing by the lad's village, told him to go back to his 

" mother, the boy began to cry, and then said, in broken Arabic, " No, 
sir, mother has no clothes; 3 r ou have given me clothes. Mother gave 
me nothing to eat, here there is plenty. Father gives me stick, and 

. here nothing to do but drink, eat, and cook. Please let me stop!" 
Poor little AgauJ he afterward returned with me to Cairo, and 1 
have no doubt by this time has quite forgotten his father, mother^ 
and the domestic fetish, in the virtues and vices of Pharaoh's capital. 

But although Samara, and, in fact, all the south-eastern part of 
Russia, offers many inducements to the settler on account of the 
low value of land and tiie cheapness of provisions, there is, in spite 
ot these advantages, one great drawback to the country, and this is 

_ the rate of mortality, the more particularly among the infantine- 

~ population. Out of 1000 children born, 345 die in the first five 
years, 40 in the next five, 19 in the subsequent term, and the same 
number ere two decades have been completed. Thus, out of 1000 
children, 423 will not reach their twentieth birthday. From another 
table of statistics 1 took the following figures; Out of 10,000 chil- 
dren born, 3830 die the first year, 075 in the second, and 524 in the 
Third, Whether this excessive mortality is caused by the extreme 
rigor of the winter months, or by the love of spirit-drinking on ike 
part of the parents, which causes them to neglect their offspring, is 
a difficult question to answer; although, probably, both these influ- 
ences have a good deal to do with the matter. " 1 have frequently 
heard educated Russians defend this theory, and curse the foundling 

- hospitals, which, originally started to diminish the evil, have, in 
their opinion, only succeeded in augmenting immorality, while they 
have greatly added to the mortality throughout the empire. 

There is a regular postal roail w^hich goes from Samara to Oren- 
burg, and the authorities have recently established a new T system 

- along this route, which has superseded the old order of things with 
reference to podorojnayas, or passports Formerly the traveler, pre- 
vious to starting, had to visit the police, tell them where he was 
going, and the number of horses he required for his sleigh. They 
would then give him a printed document, containing his description 
and an order to the postmasters of the different stations to forward 
him on toward his destination. But now all this antiquated system 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



3? 



has been abolished, and a volnaya potcJita, or free post, established 
between Samara and Orsk, a town about one hundred and forty 
miles beyond Orenburg. 

All the traveler has to do is to demand at the different post-sta- 
tions the necessary horses, when they will be immediately furnished 
him, or as soon as possible after the order has been given; the trav- 
eler paying in advance foiir copecks per horse for each verst trav- 
eled. 

I was called at daybreak the following morning. The few prep- 
arations required to be made were soon finished, and 1 found my- 
self in my newly purchased sleigh, which had been thoroughly re- 
paired, driving along in the direction of Smweshlaevskaya, the first 
station arrived at when traveling toward Orenburg, and about twenty 
versts from Samara. The country was a dead flat, and of a most- 
uninteresting description, during the whole way; a tew trees scat- 
tered here and there making, by their scarcity, the bleais and naked 
appearance of the adjacent surroundings the more conspicuous 
2s aught save snow here, there, and everywhere; no signs or Hie- save 
a few melancholy crows and jackdaws, which from time to time 
made a short flight to stretch their pinions, and then returned! tc 
perch by the side of some kitchen chimney, and extract fsom the 
rapidly rising smoke as much warmth as possible: The routs piacfe 
resembled the road between Sizeran and Samara; for, indee:, m 
winter-time everything in Russia is either alike or iiiaden trorn view*, 
buried beneath its blanch-white pall of snow. 

The station houses along the line of road I was then traveling were 
fairly clean, the furniture consisting generally oi a horse -hair sofa 
and some wooden chairs, wnile a few colored prints of the Emperor 
and other members of the royal family of Russia were hung about 
the walls, and made up the attempt at decoration. A book in which 
to inscribe complaints was also kept, and any traveler who felt him- 
self aggrieved could write down his grievance, which would be sub- 
sequently investigated by an inspector, whose duty it was to perform 
this task once a month. 1 sometimes used to while away the time, 
while waiting for fresh horses, by turning over the pages of the 
grumbler's book— occasionally, indeed, having to add my own 
grievance to the list — the badness of the horses being a frequent 
source of annoyance to the passengers. 

] reached Bodrovsky, the next station, a little after sunset, only j 
halting sufficient time'to drink a few glasses of tea, in order the bet { 
ter t6 resist the rapidly increasing cold, the thermometer having | 
fallen to t wenty degrees below zero, Reaumur, when 1 started again * 
for Malomalisky, about 26A- versts distant. 1 hoped to reach this 
point about 9 p.m., and there refresh the inner man before proceed- 
ing on my journey. It is hungry work, sleigh driving in the winter, 
and the frame requires a good deal of support in the shape of food 
in order to keep up the vitality. However, it is no good formiEg 
any plans in which time is concerned, in Russia. Tke~natives have 
a 3Iohammedan-like indifference to the clock, and travelers must- 
succumb, however unwillingly, to the waywardness of the eie 
ments. 

Presently 1 became aware, by some pistol-like cracks— the sounds 
of the whip reverberating from the backs of my horses— that there 



33 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



was a difference of opinion between them and the driver. A blind- 
ing snow had come on; the darkness was so great that 2 corJc ncC 
distinguish the driver. Our jaded animals were floundering r.boul 
in all directions, vainly endeavoring to hit oft the original Crack 
from which it was evident that they had Strayed, ^Tiie man now 
got down from his box, and, leaving me in charge of the ". rses 
made a wide cast round on foot, hoping to discover the road 



CHAPTER IX. 

The snow all this time svas falling in a manner unknowa to peo 
pie in this country, and was piling itself up against the sSeigli in 
such volumes that 1 foresaw, if we could not speedily reach, the sta- 
tion, we should be inevitably buried alive= After about hall: m 
hour's search the driver returned, and said to me, !e O Lord God!—* 
you are a misfortune. Let us turn back.' 5 1 replied, " If you Save 
lost the way, how can you turn back? Besides, if you know the 
road, we are now half-way, so it is just as easy to go forward as to 
return." 

♦He had found the track, but by this time the sleigh was so buried 
in the snow that the horses could not stir it. There was only one 
thing to do, which was tor me to get out and help him to lift the 
vehicle, when we eventually succeeded in regaining the path- 

The fellow was a good deal surprised at this action on my part, 
for Russian gentlemen, as a rule, would almost prefer to be' frozen 
to death than do any manual labor. Presently he said, " One of 
noble birth, what shall we do now?" " Go on." But at lasts find- 
ing that it was no use, and that the snow in front of us had drifted 
over the track to a much greater extent than over that part c£ the 
road which we had left behind, I was reluctantly obliged to give the 
order to return. This he obeyed with the greatest alacrity, the 
horses, as welt as the driver, showing, by their redoubled exertions,, 
that they were well aware of the change of direction. 

There is nothing so disheartening to a traveler who wishes to get 
forward rapidly as the frequent snow-storms which occur in Winter 
in this part of Russia. Days upon days of valuable time are thus 
lost, while any attempt to force a way through at all hazards wIE 
only lead to the extreme probability of your being frozen to death, 
without enabling you in any way to accelerate your arrival, The 
inspector at the station laughed heartily when we returned, and said 
that it was very fortunate 1 had not to pass the night out in the 
open. He had previously advised us not to attempt the journey 
that evening, but wail for daylight. However. 1 did not believe 
him, and consequently had to buy my experience. 

He was very anxious to know what my tchin (rank) was; whether 
1 was wennye (military) or statsky (a civilian); and the spelling of 
my name caused him a good deal of perplexity. 

Of all the countries in which it has been my fate to travel, the 
land where curiosity is most rampant is decidedly Russia. Whether 
this comes from a dearth of public news and subjects for conversa- 
tion, or from something innate and specially characterizing the 
Slavonic race, it is difficult to say. The curiosity of the fair sex, 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



39 



^which in other countries is supposed to be the ne plus ultra of in- 
quisitiveness, is-in the land of the Tzar far outstripped by the same 
peculiarity in the male inhabitants. Of course 1 am alluding the 
more particularly to the lower orders, and not to the upper classes, 
! hough even with the latter it is a feature that can not help stiiking 
the foreigner. 

The inspector was a thorough old conservative, and greatly 
mourned the new order of things, and that he could no longer de- 
mand the traveler's poclorojnaya, or pass. <c Why," he said, "I do^ 
not know who I am addressing; 1 may be talking to a shop-keeper, 

- and call him Your Excellency, or address a grand duke as simply 
; one of noble birth.' 5 " Yes," chimed in some travelers v/ho were 

benighted like myself, and rogues can travel now, for they are not 
* obliged to go to the police." 1 was rather amused at this; There 

- was decidedly a wish on the part of the other wayfarers to know 
~* who 1 was; so, pulling my English passport out of my pocket, 1 
7 said to the inspector, " There, you can look at my podorojuapaj 5 
7 He turned it upside down ; and then said, ' ' Ah yes ! you are a 
; Greek: but what a beautiful crown that is on itf You must be some 

- great personage going to Tashkent." " Perhaps so," 1 replied, as- 
suming an air of importance. " There is a royal highness coming 

- through soon, 5 said the inspector; ** 1 heard it from a peddler who 
I* went by yesterday; and one of his officers is traveling on in front to 
f make preparations. Perhaps his Excellency," turning to me, "is 
-- that gentleman." s * No," was my answer, when one of the com 
\ pany, who appeared a little annoyed at my evident unwillingness to 
" undergo this process of pumping, remarked that there had been sev- 

- era! robDeries in the neighborhood, " Yes, there have," said 
another, and the assemblage all looked at me, as much as to say s 

- " You are the man; now, do not deny it; we shall not believe you/ 5 

So the evening wore on, till one by one we laid ourselves down to 

_ rest, when a sound very suggestive of* a pig sty awoke the echoes of 
the night. On looking out at day-break, 1 found that the wind had 

" subsided, and the thermometer had risen to within a few degrees of 
freezing-point. There tvas no time to be lost, particularly as I 
could not tell how long this exceptional order of things would last; 

" so, ordering fresh horses, 1 recommenced the journey. A great 
deal of snow had fallen during the night, and it was fortunate that 
we had returned to the station, as in some places, only a little dis 

~~ tance beyond the spot from which my driver had retraced his steps. 

- were dritts eight and ten feet deep. " Praise be to -God that we did 
not fail in!" said my Jehu, pointing them out to me as he drove by; 

- * * 1 might have been frozen." 

A single line of telegraph ran along the side of the road, being 
part of the wire which connects «the capital with Tashkent. The 
high poles from which the line was suspended served as a capital 
landmark to point out the route which we must follow. Presently 

_ the scenery changed, and some plantations here and there relieved 
the eye, tired by continually gazing over endless waste. Low trucks 

« on wooden runners, drawn by two or four horses, and laden with 
iron rails tor the construction of the railway, encountered us on the 
path; while in many places we had great difficulty in passing, owing 
to the narrowness of the road, my Jehu's vocabulary of expletives 



40 



A EIDE TO KHIVA . 



being more than once thoroughly exhausted upon the heads of the 
sleighmen, they having, as it appeared, purposely tried to upset our 
sleigh by charging it with their heavily laden vehicles. 

A few stations further on the road I met General Ivryjinovsky, 
the governor of the Orenburg district, who was on his way to St. 
Petersburg, accompanied by his wife and daughter. He had highly 
distinguished himself in his earlier career in Toorkistan, and to this 
he owes the important post intrusted to his charge. He is a little, 
spare man, with a keen glance and determined eye, and it I might 

* be allowed to judge from our brief interview, he was not the sort of 

[ individual who would care to give me much information about my 

« journey, of which he did not seem to approve. 

' ; " You must remember/' he said, " on no account are you to go to 
India or to Persia, You must retrace your steps to European Rus- 
sia along the same roact by which you go. You speak Russian, I 
hear/' he suddenly remarked, looking fixedly at me, onr conversa- 
tion having been up to that time carried on in French. 

"Yes," 1 replied; "but how clever you are to have made this 
discovery, considering that we have not spoken one word in your 
language, and you have never seen me before!" This took the 
general a little aback, and he slightly changed color. 

He had evidently received a communication from some authorities 
at St. Petersburg, to the effect that 1 was acquainted with Russian, 
generally an unknown tongue to foreigners, and to a certain extent 
had let the cat out of the bag. He now observed, " Oh, I only sup- 
posed you did so," In the meantime, his wife and daughter weie 
taking off their furs in the same apartment, the accommodation for 
ladies being of the most meager kind in these road-side stations, 
there being no retiring-rooms whatever, and the fair sex have in this 
respect to put up with much more discomfort than the men. 

A.S 1 drove away, after our interview, 1 pondered the general's 
words well over in my mind — " You must, not go to India; you must 
not go to Persia; and you must retrace your steps exactly by the 
same route you go." It was really very extraordinary to see how 
much interest this paternal Government in St, Petersburg took in 
my movements. Here I was traveling in a country where the rulers 
defend the despoliation of the inhabitants in Central Asia, and the 
annexation of their territory, on the ground that it is done for the 
purpose of Christianity and civilization. And yet the Government 
of this civilized nation made more fuss about my traveling in Cen- 
tral Asia than any mandarin at Pekin whose permission 1 might 
have had to ask for a journey through the Celestial Empire. 

It will take the Russians a long time to shake off from themselves 
the habits and ways of thought inherited from a barbarous an- 
cestry; and the veneer of polish laid on by a two hundred years' in- 
tercourse with Europe requires but little rubbing to disclose the 
Tartar blood so freely circulating though their veins. 

Some distance further on the road 1 observed a strong disinclina- 
tion evinced by the man whose business it was to drive me to the 
next halting-place. He was a fresh-looking, sturdj^ fellow, and 1 
could not understand the evident dislike he had for his fare, the 
more particularly as 1 had made a point of well tipping the respect- 
ive drivers in order to get on as fast as possible. " What is it?" 1 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



41 



inquired of the station-master. "Is lie ill?" "No/' was the 
reply; " he was married yesterday, that is all." It seemed some- 
what cruel to tear away the poor fellow from the conjugal bliss that 
awaited him in the next room, but there was no help for it. No 
other driver could be procured, and the duty must be performed, 
while, if 1 had not before remarked that there was something amiss 
with the,lellow, 1 should jrery soon have found it out by the extraor- 

- dinary motions his horses imparted to the sleigh. 

He lashed the animals, which kicked and jumped, performing 
antics which slightly resembled the convulsive twitehings of an in 
dividual suffering from St. Vitus. 1 was thrown in Ihe air and 
caught again by the rebound \ upset, righted, and upset again, with- 
out having had time to realize the fiist disaster; cartridge-cases, 
guns, saddle-bags, and self all flying in the air at the same instant; 
the enamored driver forgetting everything, in the absorbing influence 
of his passion, save the desire to return to the side of his adored 
Dulcinea. 

1 once rode a camel in love. This was in the Great Korosko 
desert. He was known by the name of Magnoon, or the Mad Camel; 
but whether on account of his susceptible heart or not, 1 can not 
say 1 shall never forget on one occasion, when the amorous quad- 

- ruped had accidentally become separated from 1 he Juliet of his 
affection, a sweet creature that carried the sheik of our party. She 

I was very old, but this was no deterrent in the eyes of her ardent 
admirer, who was miserable when not at her side. I had ridden on 

~ a little ahead of the party, when the voice of Juliet, who (vas being 
saddled in the desert, and who vented her woes in weird squeais 
and sounds appropriate to her race, was wafted by the breeze to the 

_ attentive ears of her admirer. He was a very long and a very tall 
camel, and in an instant he commenced to rear. My position be- 
came both ludicrous and precarious— ludicrous to every one but 
myself, who was interested in the matter more than any one except 
Romeo — and 1 found that 1 was, as it were, slipping down tne steep 
roof of a house, with nothing to hold on by but a little peg about 

" four inches long, which projected from the front part of the saddle. 
It was an awful moment, but he did not keep me long in sus- 
pense; and performing an extraordinary movement, he suddenly 
swung himself round on his hind legs, and ran as fast as ever he 
could in the direction of the fair enticer. A camel's gait is a 
peculiar one; they go something like a pig with the fore, and like a 
cow with the hind legs. The motion is decidedly rough, and at this 
moment my steed was seized with a strange and convulsive twitch- 

■ ing which threatened to capsize the saddle. My position became 

• each second more ridiculous and ^appal ling. 1 was a shuttlecock; 

• Romeo's back was the battledoor,' At every moment I was hurled 
! into the air, the fear of missing the saddle and falling on the ground 
j being continually in my mind. The little projecting knob, which 
j seemed an instrument of torture like the impaling sticks used to 
j punish the unfaithful in China, was also a source of consternation^ 
J and 1 do not think 1 had ever felt a more thorough sensation of re- 
lief than when, on ai riving at our encampment, Romeo halted by 
the side of his Juliet. 

The episode with Romeo had been an alarming one r but it was 



42 



A RIDE TO KHITA. 



nothing to being driven by this amorous young Russian a^ a 
charioteer; and at last, atter having been deposited with all my 
luggage for the third lime in the snow, L resolved to appeal to his 
feelings by a sharp application of my boot. " Why do you do 
that?" he said, pulling up short, " your hurt; you break myribs." 

'* I only do to you what you do 'to me," was my reply; "you 
hurl, you break my ribs, and property besides/' 

" Oh, one of noble birth," ejaculated 4he fellow, " it is not my 
fault. It is thou, O moody one!" — to his off-side horse, accom- 
panied by a crack from his lash. " It is thou, O spoiled and cher- 
ished one!" — lo his other meager and half-starved quadruped. 
(Whack!) "Oh, petted and caressed sons of animals" (whack, 
■whack, whack!) " 1 will teach you to upset the gentleman!" 



CHAPTER X. 

It was hard work, this perpetual traveling, for wherever the roads 
were passable I kept steadily journeying onward, and gradually 
diminished the distance that lay between myself and Orenburg. 

For the last hundred versts there were hardly any travelers save 
at one station, where 1 met a few officers who were on their way to 
Samara. They did not much fancy the piece of road which lay be- 
fore them, and told me that the winter we were having was the 
mosl exceptionally cold season they had ever experienced in those 
latitudes. Occasionally the road for a few miles would take quite 
a different aspect, a succession of ridge and furrow having been 
formed by the wind, which had billowed up the snow in this strange 
manner. The motion my sleigh would then assume was anything 
but of an agreeable character, and any person who suffers from 
crossing the Channel would have found that a journey in a sleigh 
can, under certain circumstances, be quite as disagreeable. On the 
evenings when there was no storm, when the roads were smooth 
and the horses good, it was very agreeable traveling, the stars light- 
ing up the heavens with extraordinary brightness, and making^the 
night as clear as day, while the " tinkle," tinkle, tinkle" of the 
sleigh-bells, changing time as the horses changed their pace, now 
ringing fast and furiously, then dying away as our animals strug- 
gled up some eminence, helped to while away the hours. When 
about sixty versts from Orenburg, 1 was told that a short cut oft the 
road would diminish the distance considerably. 1 determined to 
avail myself of this information, and take the risk of not being able 
to find horses at the farm-houses on the road, where the farmers, if 
they have any animals in their slables, are only too glad to let them 
out to the travelers. 

Presently we arrived at a cottage, the fac-simile of an Irish hovel. 
Here were some unclean four-footed ones, sharing the habitation 
with the two-legged inmates. Pigs, calves, men, women, and chil- 
dren were huddled together round a huge stove, which barely 
warmed the ill built and wretched hovel. But the horses supplied 
me were good, and finally we crossed the Samara River. Once more 
some signs of cultivation, for a few brick houses weie to be seen: 
my driver leaped from his seat, and tied up the bell on the horse's 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



43 



"head collar. We were approaching a town, and shortly afterward 
we dashed up the principal, street at a good swinging gallop, my 
sleigh man shouting cheerily, and cracking his whip at every bound. 
Orenburg was reached, and a lew minutes later I found myself in a 
well warmed room, enjoying a wash, the luxury ot which* can only 
be appreciated by those who have driven four hundred versts through 
Russia in the winter; and who hare thus practically become ac- 
quainted with the slight respect the Russians show to the good old 
maxim, " Cleanliness is next to godliness," the latter quality, as 
displayed in a Russian devotee, being more attied with dirt than any- 
thing else I can mention. 

It was evident that i was rapidly leaving civilization behind me. 
2so bed linen could be procured, and on my asking lor a towel, the 
nearest approach to this commodity which could be obtained was a 
table napkin. Russians were journeying in these regions carrying 
about their own bed-linen, pillow cases, etc., and either dispense 
with sheets altogether, or are contented with a rug. The architect 
who had designed this hotel was evidently a stranger to comfort, 
as this is understood in other countries. To go from the dining- 
rooms to the bedrooms, it was necessary to pass through an open, 
court yard, which, as the thermometer was at that time occasionally 
30° below zero, Reaumur, did not conduce to the traveler's comfort. 
The people staying in the inn were chiefly officers, and a well-worn 
billiard-table in a room down-stairs was being played on incessantly 
night and day; while the attendant at a bar, where caviare, salt- 
fish, anchovies, sour-krout, and all kinds of relishes, with spirits 
and liquors, could be procured, had not a spare moment to himself. 

In fact, there is no country in the world, not even the' United 
States, where so much of what is commonly termed nipping goes 
on as in Russia. Probably the extreme cold, to a certain extent, 
permits the inhabitants to take such liberties with their stomachs; 
but the increasing numbers of Russian visitors who are each sum- 
mer to be seen at Carlsbad, and their general complaint— liver — is 
a good sign that this dram-drinking, if persisted in, eventually sows 
the seedsof disease. 

When 1 awoke the following morning, it was with a splitting 
headache and a feeling of oppression which, except when once half 
suffocated by the gas out of a balloon, I can not remember to have 
ever before experienced. It was with a good deal of difficulty that 
1 could raise myself from my bed, and, on opening the door of the 
room and breathing the cold' but pure air, my legs gave way under 
me, and, staggering, L fell down. It then flashed across my mind 
that the stove" had been shut up too soon the previous evening, the 
consequence being that the poisonous gas from the charcoal had 
escaped into the sleeping-apartment. Luckily, however, for m /self, 
the room which had been, given me was a large one. The stoves in 
Russia, though admirably arranged so as to keep up a due degree 
of warmth in the house ; 'require" considerable care, and any neglect 
in this respect will lead to disagreeable consequences. Indeed, 
seldom does a winter pass without" some traveler or other falling a 
victim. 

Later in the day 1 drove to the house of an American gentleman, 
a Mr, G , for whom 1 had a letter of introduction, lie received 



44 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



me with the usual hospitality of his nation, and promised to do 
everything he could to further my views. But as tor information 
about the road to Khiva, he could give me none. All the news and 
gossip about Tashkent, Samarcand, and the recent disturbances at 
Kokan he had, so to speak, at his ringers' ends; but Khiva was a 
sealed book to him, and he recommended me to call upon a Mr. 
Bektchourin, a Tartar gentleman, and the Professor of Eastern 
Languages at the Russian Military Academy, who, he said, knew 
more about the subject than any other man in Orenburg. 

On returning to my hotel, the waiter informed me that the chief 
of the police had sent an order that 1 was to attend the police-office 
immediately. It seemed a little strange his forwarding me this 
communication through a servant at the inn, and not through some 
more official channel. However, at once obeying the command, I 
proceeded to the residence of the police-officer, and shortly after- 
ward was shown into the chief's room. He held, it appeared, the 
rank of a colonel in the army, and said that he wished to know why 
1 had come to Orenburg. I replied that " 1 was going to Russian 
Asia;" when he remarked, " Well, 1 can not allow you to do this, 
unless you have permission from the authorities in St. Petersburg. 
There is a special order prohibiting foreigners from traveling m 
Toorkistan. I then showed him the letter 1 had received from Gen- 
eral Milutin, which was written in French. He perused it with 
difficulty, and to all appearance was not well acquainted with thac 
language. He then said, " By what route do you propose to go?" 
I replied by Kasala, and perhaps from there to'Tashkent, and so on 
to Khiva —anyhow, first of all to Kasala. " Yes," he said, " that 
is your best plan ; for there 3-011 will be able to obtain information 
which no one can here give you." From the police-office 1 drove 
off to call upon Mr. Bektchourin, the Tartar gentleman. 

On my ringing the bell Mr. Bektchourin opened the door him- 
self, He was a tall, noble-looking old man, in a long Eastern dress- 
ing-gown, which was fastened around his waist with a sash, while 
a fez cap on his head betokened an allegiance to the faith of Islam. 
He was a little surprised to see a stranger, but courteously invited 
me to enter his abode; and when 1 had explained the object of my 
visit — which was, first, to know if he could give me any informa- 
tion about the route to Khiva, and, secondly, if he would recom- 
mend me a Tartar servant who could speak Russian— he said, " My 
good sir, I will do everything I can ; but first of all you must drink 
some tea," and, a servant entering with some glasses of this bever- 
age, Bektchourin, handing me a "cigarette, lighted one himself, and 
slowly sipped the thought-inspiring liquid. 

Presently he remarked, 44 First of all, my good sir, as to going to 
Khiva, it is winter; the Syr Darya " (Jaxartes) " and Amu Darya " 
(Oxus) " rivers are frozen up. The difficulties ana hardships will be 
immense. "You will have to ride on horseback over five hundred 
versts of snow-covered steppes. If it had been summer you would 
have had no difficulty whatever, for, once arrived at Kasala, better 
known as Fort Number One, you could have gone in a steamer, and 
have been landed within a few miles of Petro-Alexandrovsk, our 
fort in Khivan territory, without any fatigue or danger. In winter, 
however, it is very different, and 1 sincerely advise you to give up 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



45 



the idea altogether, or to come back in the summer and then per- 
form the journey." 1 here remarked that it was not likely that 1 
should have taken the trouble to travel even so far as Orenburg in the 
winter without having made up my mind, previous to leaving 
London, as to what my intentions were. " Quite right, my good 
sir," continued the kind old gentleman, " quite right; it you mean 
to go, 1 will nelp you; but at the same time it was only right of me 
to say what my opinion is about the matter; and indeed," he added, 
" 1 really can not give you any information as to the routes, for at 
this time of the year all will depend upon how much snow has fallen 
upon the steppes, and this you can only find out at Kasala. As to 
recommending you a servant," he added, " 1 do not know of one at 
present, but will make every inquiry. Not that 1 much care about 
the task," he continued, "for there was an American gentleman 
here not long ago with the secretary of the United States Legation 
•at St. Petersburg— Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler were, their 
names. 1 was asked to recommend them a servant, and to get 
them one in twenty-four hours. How 1 toiled and slaved! My 
good wife, too, asked all the people of her acquaintance, and we 
hunted everywhere to find an honest Tartar servant; not but that 
there are plenty of honest Tartars," he added, " quite as many as 
Christians, but Mr. Schuyler required a man who could speak Rus- 
sian, ana who, to a certain extent, was accustomed to European 
ways. Well, we searched everywhere, and at the last moment a 
fellow offered himself for the situation. 1 could hear of nothing 
against his character, and the fact was, I had no time to make in- 
quiries. But the next thing I heard was that the servant had turned 
out to be a scoundrel, and that Mr. MacGahan, who wrote a very 
interesting book about his journey, had adverted to me in it, and 
said'that I bad recommended the man. Now, if I get you a servant, 
perhaps you will write a book and say the same as Mr. MacGahan 
has done — that is, if you are not pleased with your servant; but I 
tell you candidly that 1 can not in any way be responsible for his 
character, although 1 will do my best to find you an honest fellow." 

No one could have been kinder than Mr. Bektchourin. He as- 
sured me that, he would make every inquiry with reference to the 
object I had in view; while 1 relieved his mind by promising to 
speak to Mr. MacGahan, so that when another edition of " Cam- 
paigning on the Oxus" came out, Mr. Bektchourin's explanation 
of the circumstances might be appended in a note. Probably on 
account of the military element in the hotel, the newspapers were 
represented by the " Imalid," and, on turning over the leaves of an 
old number of this journal, 1 came across a paragraph which showed 
the friendly interest the Russian otficer who wrote it evidently took 
in India. 

It was to the effect that, at a late exhibition of maps in Paris, the 
more recent British maps of the At trek and Afghanistan were not to 
be found, but that an interesting map of the Punjaub, with all the 
various march-routes, and which the compiler had particularly not 
intended to be published, was to be seen on the expedition. 

The following day 1 called upon General Bazoulek, the Governor 
pro tern, now that Kryjinovsky was away. He was a good-looking 
man of about five-and-forty, and a little pompous in his demeanor, 



46 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



for in Kryjinovsky's absence lie was all-powerful at Orenburg, and 
lie duly endeavored to impress upon me the importance of his posi- 
tion. He could give me no information whatever as to how to go 
to Khiva, his remark being the same stereotyped one repeated ever 
so many times before: " \ou. must go tp Kasala, and there you will 
be able to obtain every information." On inquiry if there was a 
post to Khiva, his answer was, " 1 believe so, but 1 do not know by 
what route it goes." In fact, the ignorance displayed by all the 
officials with whom 1 came in contact might have surprised any one 
aware of the great importance attached to the study of geography 
by the Russian military authorities. 1 could not explain it to my- 
self otherwise than by assuming that the real solution of the problem 
consisted in the politeness of the officers, who preferred being 
thought ignoiant to rude. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The principal topic of conversation at Orenburg was a recent 
emeute amid the thai Cossacks. It appeared that the inhabitants 
of the town of Uralsk, as also many of the people in that neighbor- 
hood, had become excessively discontented with the military law of 
universal conscription. Previous to the promulgation of the new 
edict, the better-to-do classes had not sent their sons to serve, and 
the ranks were filled with recruits from the poorer orders. But now 
all was changed: money would no longer purchase a substitute^ 
and grievous discontent possessed the minds of the Ural Cossacks. 
Most of them were Raskolniki dissenters from the Greek Church, 
and belonged to the old faith (Staroi vara). When they were 
ordeied to send their sons to serve, they rebelled, and openly called 
the Emperor Antichrist. This was too much for the pious-minded 
authorities at St. Petersburg, and 2500 of the malcontents had been 
banished from Uralsk to Central Asia, while it was said at Oren- 
burg that 2000 more would speedily follow. 

The delinquents had been marched from Orenburg to Kasala, and 
from that place it was intended to transport them to the Khivan 
territory. A detachment of 500 Lad been already sent to Nookoos, 
a small fort recently constructed by the Russians on the right bank 
of the Amu Darya. It appeared that the commander at Kasala had 
experienced much difficulty with the men; when he ordered them 
to march under escort to INookoos they absolutely refused to stir. 
At last he ordered them to be attached to camels by cords, and then 
commanded the Orenburg Cossacks to flog the prisoners with their 
whips. This had been done with great barbarity, and 1 was assured 
that three of the victims had died under the lash. The commandant 
of Kasala had written to St. Petersburg to know what was to be 
done with the remainder of the exiles. 

G now informed me of a battue which had taken place by 

order of Kryjinovsky a few weeks previous to my arrival, with the 
object of destroying some wolves, which had been doing a vast 
amount of damage in the neighborhood. Several miles of country 
had been inclosed by beaters, who gradually reduced the circle. 
However, the wolves proved too much for the sportsmen, as the 
latter were not able to bag a single animal. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA * 



11 



I must say 1 had become rather skeptical as to the existence of 
these carnivorous beasts— that is to say in any large quantities; I 
had now traveled over five hundred versts of country, and had not 
•seen or neard a single one. That there were wolves 1 did not deny, 
but was inclined to believe that both their numbers and depredations 
were much exaggerated. 

* Kautfmann, the Governor-general of Toorkistan, was said to have 
•sent for two more regiments from European Russia, and they were 
to be dispatched to Toorkistan immediately, he himself being now 
on his road to St. Petersburg; and people in Orenburg said that he 
was not in very good favor at court, for haviug pushed the Russian 
arms further in Central Asia than had been eitner the wish or inten- 
tion of the Emperor. It was declared that the Tzar himself was 
very much opposed to this system of annexation in the East, and 
had only been induced to permit it on the representations of his 
generals that they were surrounded by lawless tribes, who carried 
off and imprisoned Russian subjects. 

It is easy to make a good case if the counsel for the plaintiff is 
the only one heard. The Kokandians and Khivaos have not had 
the opportunity of putting forward their side of the question, so, as 
is naturally to be supposed, the Russian generals have invariably 
carried the day. Indeed, we can not wonder at the Tzar's officers 
in Toorkistan 'being so eager to continue in their line of conquest. 
Taken for the most part from poor but well-born families, having 
no inheritance but the sw r ord, no prospect save promotion, they 
thirst for war as the only means at hand for rapidly rising in the 
service. A life in Central Asia in time of peace is looked upon with 
contempt; and with everything to be gained by war and nothing by 
peace, we ought not to be surprised should every little pretext be 
sought for to provoke reprisals on the part of the native population^ 
JEurope then hears of the cruelties committed by the brutal fanatics 
in Central Asia, of Russian magnanimity, and of Mohammedan in- 
tolerance. * 

Exeter Hall is quieted by the idea of a crusade against the Mussul- 
mans; the lust for conquest is cloaked in a garb called Christianity; 
the sword and the Bible go forth together. Thousands of the natives 
are mown down by that evangelical weapon, the breech-loader; and 
one day we read in our morning newspapers that a territory larger 
than France and England together has been added to the Tzar's 
dominions. 

But it does not signify, observe some of our legislators; the sooner 
Eussia and India touch each other the better. How much better for 
India to have a Russian neighbor on her frontier instead of the bar- 
barous Afghans! Russia herself is apparently well aware of the ad- 
vantage of having civilized neighbors on her western frontier; as it 
is, on that frontier she is obliged to keep concentrated two-thirds of 
her available forces. People in this country who advocate the two 
empires touching are not, perhaps, aware that our Indian army 
would then have to be increased to three times its present strength, 
and in spite of that precaution there would be less security for our- 
selves. * 

It now wanted only two days to Christmas. 1 had already been 
four days in Orenburg, and, as far as 1 could see, was as far oft as 



48 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



ever from obtaining a servant. Getting into my sleigh, I hurried off 
to the house ot my friend Bektchourin. 1 found him, as usual, 
clad in his dressing-gown; but this time he was not alone, for several 
Easterns were sharing his hospitality and imbibing large glasses of 
strong green tea, which, 1 was told, is the kind most appreciated ia 
Central Asia. 

it was fortunate that 1 had called at that hour, for it gave me the 
opportunity ot making the acquaintance of the Khan of Kokan, 
formerly a sovereign, but now an exile far from his own country,, 
and detained in European Russia by order of the Tzar. He was a 
swarthy, strong-built fellow. His captivity did not seem to have 
pressed much on his soul. He had readily adopted European cus- 
toms, and had actually gone so far as to give a ball. This 1 was in- 
formed had been a great success, many of the fair damsels in Oren- 
burg having attended it; while a wicked report ran to the effect that 
a great competition was going on among certain of the ladies with 
the view ot converting the handsome Khan to the Greek faith, and \ 
so on to matrimony according to the Russian rites; but taking into 
consideration a Mohammedan's innate horror of idols or image- : 
worship, and that the Khan is already blessed with four wives, this 
would seem rather a hopeless task. However, everything might be 
gained in the event ot success, and a union with the convert would, 
it was said, not be displeasing to some of the less favored fair ones 
of Orenburg. Fabulous reports of his wealth were spread about the 
town, and great delight was evinced in every quarter on its being an- 
nounced that he had elected to live in\Qrenburg, and was about to 
purchase a house in the neighborhood, having been prompted to take 
this step by his friendship with Mr. Bektchourin, and General 
Kryjinovsky, the governor of the province. According to my Tartar 
acquaintance, the Khan's wealth had been much exaggerated, and 
he was not by any means the Croesus he had been represented. On 
leaving Kokan, he«had taken with him a large quantity of treasure 
in gold and silver specie, but had been robbed on the road; while at 
the time at which 1 write he had only 120,000 rubles— about £15,000 
of our money — not much in the eyes of an English match-maker r 
but a glittering bait to the husband-seeldng dames of Orenburg. 

Bektchourin now said that he had discovered a Bokharan who 
would accompany me as a servant; and that the man could speak 
Russian, Tartar, and Persian, and would be very usef ul as an in- 
terpreter. 

However, later on B came to the hotel, and with a long face 

informed me that he did not think the fellow would suit; that Mrs. 
Bektchourin had been making inquiries, and had discovered that 
the Bokharan 's papa and mamma smoked, opium, while it was cur- 
rently rumored that the son partook of his parent's taste. An opium 
smoker as a servant would have been an intolerable nuisance. In 
consequence of this, Mr. Bektchourin had brought with him a young 
Russian who had been a clerk in a counting-office, and could speak 
Tartar. He was ready to accompany me. However, 1 discovered 
that his idea was to travel as an equal, and that he had no intention 
to act as a servant: in fact he had so great an idea of his own impor- 
tance that 1 felt that the Bokharan, opium and all, would have been 
more eligible as an attendant. 



A HIDE TO KHIVA* 



49 



What was to be done? 1 began to think that 1 might as well 
search for the philosopher's stone as for a servant in Orenburg, 

But B ■- was by no means disheartened. " 1 will find one," he 

said, " never fear;'' and a few hours after another candidate for the 
post turned up in the shape of a man who had already been to 
Tashkent with Mr. David Ker. He informed me that Mr. Bekt- 
chonrin had sent him to the inn, and that Mrs. Bektchourin had lent 
him five rubles to take his passport out of pawn, a Jew having pre- 
viously advanced some money on this document. As the Tartar 
appeared a likely sort of fellow, I agreed to accept his services,, 
twenty-five rubles a month being the wages, and all found. 

" Perhaps one of noble birth," said "the man, "you would not 
object to give me two months' wages on account? 1 have an aged 
mother, and should like to leave a little money to support her during 
my absence." Filial affection is undeniably a good trait in a man's 
character. I was delighted; 1 had secured a prodigy. I blessed 
Bektchourin, who had sent me such a paragon of virtue., and 1 gave 
the servant the money, he promising to return to the hotel early the 
following morning. The difficulties of the journey seemed half over 
already, and 1 went to bed convinced that at last 1 was in a fair way 
to make a start. 

Hope told a flattering tale: 1 awoke 4he next morning at about 
five o'clock, and commenced my preparations. However, no man 
arrived, and a few hours later I rang the bell for the head-waiter of 
the inn. 

" Did you see the servant 1 engaged yesterday?" 
44 Yes, one of noble birth, 1 saw him." 

" Why has he not come here this morning? He was to have beer> 
here at six." 

" Perhaps, one of* noble birth, you gave him some money?" 

" Yes," was my reply, " for his bedridden mother." 

An irrepressible grin caused the lantern jaws of the head-waiter 
to open from ear to ear; a cavernous mouth was disclosed; a few 
yellow teeth bristling at irregular intervals in the huge recess ap- 
peared to take their share in his amusement for, unrolling a long 
tongue, he caressed the stumpy fangs and licked his lips with an air 
of tne greatest possible enjoyment. 

"His bedridden mother! Heel hee! hee! Oh, the son of an 
animal!" and the tears poured down the fellow's face as he became^ 
convulsed with laughter. " You will not see him again," he con " 
tinued, " until he has spent the money : he has gone to kootit " (drink, 
and make merry, the acme of a Russian's happiness). " Oh, the 
cunning pigeon!" and the head-waiter left the room, evidently much 
delighted at the way 1 had been taken in by his countryman. At 
first 1 could hardly bring myself to believe in the waiter's version of 
the matter— the delinquent had such an honest-looking countenance, 
and my vanity was somewhat insulted at the idea of my having been 
so duped. No ; it was more likely that he would turn up later. 
Comforting my mind as well as I could With this reflection, 1 went 
out to purchase some provisions for my journey with my friend 

G , who, like myself, thought that the fellow would probably 

come to the hotel in the afternoon. 



£0 



A. KIDE TO KHIVA. 



CHAPTER XII. 

G , though he was an American citizen, a man of the world in 

its fullest sense, and had traveled from the States to Orenburg, was 
not an efficient adviser with reference to the supply of provisions re- 
quired by a traveler. Indeed, if 1 had taken my friend's advice 1 
should have bought the contents of nearly every shop in Orenburg. 
The grocers looked delighted as G put aside tin after tin of pre- 
served meats. At last 1 was obliged to remonstrate. "So! many 
thanks, but how can I carry them?" 

" Carry them!" continued my imperturbable friend; " a sleigh is 
the most elastic piece of goods 1 know; it will stretch to any amount. 
Schuyler and MacGahan took a great deal more. 1 am only just 
beginning;, we will go to another store presently. These sweet 
lozenges— they are excellent; try some;" and to the grocer, "Put 
lour pounds of this chocolate aside, and some pickles too — delicious; 
a few bottles— very good. Now then, about candles and spirits for 
cooking, and a cooking apparatus and a lamp. You had better have 
some carpenter's tools, imcase the sleigh breaks, and lots of stout 
cord and nails. A carpet would be also a good thing to take to sit 
down upon; and some wine and spirits to present to the Russian 
officers. They like wine, and although you don't drink yourself, 
they do; just a dozen or so," he added, with a supplicating glance. 
<( Well, as you like — but it would be better. Then you must have 
presents for the natives — a few looking-glasses and ornaments. You 
will find them very useful." 

It was really necessary to make a stand of some sort against my 
good-i mentioned companion, who, not accustomed to travel himself, 
evidently thought that the entire contents of an upholsterer's or 
grocer's shop were indispensable requisites for a journey on the 
steppes. 

" 1 tell you what it is, " I observed, " 1 shall not take a quarter of 
the things which you have put aside for- me, and certainly not pur- 
chase any more. It was as much as I could do to stow myself away 
in my sleigh when traveling without a servant from Samara here; 
and the vehicle would never hold half these things, which are for 
the most part quite unnecessary." 

" Not; at all," said my acquaintance, giving vent to his feelings by 
squinting some tobacco-juice on Uie floor. " Not at all. Schuyler 
and MacGahan had two sleighs. Capital ; . tne thing is settled. " 
Then, to the shop-man: "A few pounds of cocoa. I shall soon 
have finished," he added. 

It was useless arguing with him, and the only thing to be done 
was to allow tne shop-man to put aside the different articles, and to 
say that 1 would call another day, select what 1 wanted, and then 
pay the bill. 

1 now proceeded to the bank, as the amount of Russian gold, in 
hall-imperials, which 1 brought from St. Petersburg, was more than 
would be required for my journey. The money was very heavy 
and cumbersome as carried in my waist-belt, and so 1 determined to 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



51 



convert a certain proportion of the precious metal into bank-notes. 
There is a curious circumstance in connection with the paper cur- 
rency in Russia which is not generally known to foreigners. On the 
face of every note is printed the following announcement: " The 
bank will pay the owner, on demand, the amount of rubles stamped 
on the paper in either gold or silver." A most just and excellent 
arrangement if it were only carried out ; but, on the contrary, it is 
extremely difficult to obtain gold in Russia, and during my stay at 
St. Petersburg I had to wait nearly an hour at Venekin's bank while 
the clerk was sent out to buy half-imperials. Finally, 1 had to pay 
six rubles eighteen copecks for each coin, the value stamped on it 
being five rubles, fifteen copecks. On my going to the Government 
Bank at Orenburg and inquiring if 1 could change some half -im- 
perials into paper, the cashier declined to give more than five rubles- 
seventy-five copecks for each piece. 1 would not accept these terms 
and went to the Commercial Bank, the cashier here offering six 
rubles. On my producing some English sovereigns he greatly ad- 
mired them, and said they were very beautiful, but refused to give 
me any rubles in exchange, unless 1 would first pay the cost of a 
telegram to the head of the firm in St. Petersburg, so as to inquire 
what price he would give. 1 then discovered that no one else in 
Orenburg would change the sovereigns on any terms whatever, and 
so had to accept these conditions. 

The following day I was informed that the Commercial Bank 
would change my English gold, though at a much lower rate than 
that which I had received at St. Petersburg. After the difficulties 
experienced with the sovereigns, it can easily be imagined that the 
cashier did not look with much respect upon Coutts's circular notes, 
or upon a letter of credit from Cox <& Go. , the well-known bankers 
and army agents in Craig's Court. The bills might iust as well have- 
been waste paper in so far as the official was concerned; and when 
1 told him that the paper of these two English bankers was looked 
upon in London as being as good as gold, the clerk shook his head, 
and evidently did not believe me. 

In spite of the amount of silver which is supposed to be found in 
Russia, there is a great deficiency of this metal in the banks. The 
cashiers object to pay any one more than five rubles, or fourteen 
shillings, in silver pieces, and confine their business almost ex- 
clusively to paper notes. When a Russian is about to leave Oren- 
burg for a long drive by post, and a supply of silver is absolutely 
necessary, he has to send different people as commissioners to the 
bank; each man will then receive five rubles' worth of silver, and 
in this manner the traveler can eventually get sufficient small change 
for his journey. Indeed, without a certain supply of silver coin it 
is almost impossible to travel in Russia, the station inspectors hardly 
ever having any change. The amount of paper in circulation 
throughout the Tzar's dominions is somewhat startling to a 
foreigner; and if the financial prosperity of a nation can be gauged 
by the amount of gold it possesses, Russia must be on the verge of 
bankruptcy. 

In the evening I dined with ,a party of Russian officers, among 
others the chief of the telegraphs at Orenburg. The conversation 
turned on the chance of any immediate rupture with Germauy; and. 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



one of the guests assured me that it would be impossible for a Ger- 
man army to make use of its railway carriages on the Russian lines, 
as the gauge has been made purposely of a different width to that 
employed in German} 7 and Austria. However, another of the party 
here remaiked that, according to a recent account, the Prussians 
had got over this difficulty, an engineer officer having invented a 
system for building carriages and engines by which the wheels can 
be made to fit any kind of line, and that if this statement were true 
a German advance would not necessarily be impeded on account of 
the difference of gauge. The telegraph official was very inquisitive, 
and asked a great many questions about my journey, finally stating 

to G , " You, may depend upon it, we shall never see him again. 

Be has been sent out by his Government, and when he has done 
what they want, he will return, but not by this road." 

It was Christmas- day. 1 had been exactly twenty-five days on 
my journey — enough time to go from London to New York and back 
— and was still no further on my road than Orenburg. All of a 
sudden Mr. Bektchourin was announced, his first question being, 
" Have you seen the servant?" " Yes," was the reply, " not onty 
seen him, but engaged him, and given in advance fifty rubles, on 
account of his bedridden mother. He was to have been here yester- 
day morning at six, but he has not turned up." 

" Oh, the dove!" said Mr. Bektchourin; " oh, the cunning little 
scoundrel! You do not know how he has deceived my wife. He 
came to her in my absence, and said that he had seen me, and then 
persuaded her to lend him five rubles to take his passport out of 
pawn. She gave him the money, and he has bolted with it. Oh, 
the cunning one!" — and Mr. Bektchourin shook his fist with rage 
— " but we will catch him. His little back 'shall smart. My dear 
sir, 1 will go to the police;" and the good man hurried off as fast as 
he could in that direction.- 

Later on I called on the same authorities, and was fortunate 
enough to find Colonel Dreir, the Chief of the Force at Orenburg. 
He informed me that Mr. Bektchourin had been already there, and 
that the case was in the hands of Sergeant Solovef, the most intelli- 
gent of the thief -catchers in the district. As he uttered these words, 
the colonel touched a bell, and desired the servant to summon the 
sergeant. 

A moment afterward the latter stood before us. He was a stout- 
built fellow, with a firm, resolute mouth, and a hawk-like nose and 
eye. He saluted in the military fashion, and remained at attention, 
standing stiff and erect before his chief. 

" You have heard of this English gentleman who has been robbed 
by a Tartar servant?" 

" 1 have heard." 

" The rogue must be caught." 

" I. will catch him." 

" The money must be got back." 

" The money shall be got back— if Ii6 has not spent it," muttered 

the sergeant. 
" Immediately." 
" Immediately." 
" Go at once," said the colonel. 



A HIDE TO KHITA. 



53 



" 1 obey," was the answer; and the sergeant, swinging round on 
liis heel, saluted, and left the room. 

The difficulties of obtaining a servant at Orenburg seemed to be 
so great that 1 made up my mind not to delay a day longer on that 
account, but to go alone on my travels— at all events, so far as 
i\asala. Once here, I could try again, and see whether in that part 
of the world an honest Tartar was such a vara avis as in Orenburg. 
In the meantime, Colonel Dreir gave me an order for a podorojnaya 
as far as Fori Number One (Kasala), and told me to go to the 
Kaznacheistvo, or Treasury, where the necessary document could be 
obtained. On receiving the pass, I found that it was worded as fol- 
lows: 

BY THE ORDER OF 

HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER, 
The Son of Nicholas, 
AUTOCRAT OF THE WHOLE OF RUSSIA, 

etc., etc. 

From the town of Orsk to the town of Kasala, to the Captain of 
the English service, Frederick, the son of Gustavus Burnaby, to 
give three horses, with a driver, for the legal fare, without delay. 
Given in the town of Orenburg, 15th Dec, 1875. 

I had barely returned to my hotel, when Bektchourin was again 
announced; and while we were drinking some tea, the clashing of a 
sword-scabbard on the staircase, and a considerable noise and clamor 
going on outside, warned us that something unusual w T as occurring. 
The head waiter now entered the room. His face wore a look of in- 
tense importance, coupled with admiration for something he had 
seen. He was evidently bursting to impart to me a startling piece 
of news; and if he had been an English groom, 1 should have 
thought that my best horse had broken his leg. 

" Well, what is it?" I inquired. " Is the house on fire, or your 
wife dead?" "No, one of noble birth, they have caught hi'm." 

"What! the thief?" cried Bektchourin. "Yes; the sergeant has 
him outside. The rogue is weeping; the servants are all looking on 
— the lodgers too; praise be to God! May the sergeant bring him 
in?" " By all means," 1 said. A moment later the door opened, 
and the delinquent was precipitated into the room. 

The sergeant followed. His mien was imposing. He took two 
short steps, then a long one, advanced to the side of the prisoner, 
placed his left hand on the culprit's shoulder, and saluted majestic- 
ally with the right. It was a comical gathering — the servants in 
the room, their hair bristling with awe; the lodgers outside, eager 
to know what was the matter; the head waiter wiping his perspiring 
forehead with a table napkin— which he had brought me as a sub- 
stitute for a towel— his huge mouth extended from ear to ear, and 
alternately opening and shutting with astonishment; the prisoner 
pleading for mercy; the sergeant erect and consequential; while 
Bektchourin, who was more excited than 1 could have believed it 
possible for an Oriental to become, was shaking his fist in the cul- 
prit's face. " So they have you, brother! Ah! my little pigeon, 
.you have come back! So you wanted to throw discredit on our 



54 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



race! Oh, you dear one! But now stick, stick, stick! you shall 
have it! Ah, my love, you may cry!" as the prisoner groaned at 
the allusion to the whipping in store for him. " But the money, 
sergeant, the money — what has he done with it? and where did you 

catch hjm?" 

The policeman was not gitted with the same command of language 
as his interrogator; and to gain time to collect his thoughts, he once 
more saluted, then jerked out, " He spent twenty-five rubles in 
drink — there are twenty-five here. Women, women — there weie 
two with him!" and, having disburdened himself of this statement, 
the sergeant produced the money he had taken from the culprit, and 
laid it on the table. " For the sake of Heaven, pardon me!" cried 
the prisoner, going down on his knees, ant) trying to kiss Bektchou- 
rin's feet; " but 1 drank, she drank, we ail drank. 1 will return the 
money." 

" Very well," said Bektchourin. " First of all, the money, and 
then we will take into consideration the whipping; so remove him. 
sergeant, and see if he is able to make good the deficiency. 



CHAPTER XIII. , 

The excitement created in the household by the prisoner's arrival 

having calmed down, 1 set out with my fiiendG to see if 1 could 

purchase a sheepskin suit, such as is worn by the Russian peas- 
antry. In the meantime, Bektchourin very good-naturedly went 
ofl. in search of a servant. *' I must get you one," he said. "You 
shall not go alone. It shall not be said that there is not one honest 

Tartar servant in Orenburg." G drove me to a street mainly 

inhabited by dealers in sheepskin. On entering one of the shops^ 
we were nearly compelled to beat a retreat, owing to the smell. A 
few years ago'the Thames, on a hot summer's afternoon and at low 
water, had a bouquet peculiarly its own, and one which startled the 
olfactory nerves; but the odor In this little Russian shop was infin- 
itely more disgusting. The sheepskins were in every stage of prep- 
aration. The heat thrown out by a large drying-stove was very 
great, and only the absolute necessity of ordering some w arm clothes 
forced me to lemain tor an instant in the establishment. The things 
1 had brought from St. Petersburg were of no use for the journey 
on horseback. The shuba or pelisse, which reached to my feet, 
would not have been suitable attiie when 1 was in the saddle, and 
sheepskin garments, ih spite of their disagreeable smell, are much 
the warmest clothes that can be worn. 1 w r as measured for a riding- 
coat, the wool to be worn inside, for some trousers of the same ma- 
terial, and for a pair of high stockings, or rather buckets, also made 
of sheepskin. These last would be drawn on over four pairs of 
fishing stockings, and in their turn be incased in some high cloth 
boots— experience had already taught me that any leather about the 
feet is a mistake— and when my new clothes were put on over those 
which had been made tor me in London, 1 thought myself proof 
against any amount of frost, 
"in the evening Bektchourin returned to the hotel, accompanied: 
by a Tartar, the^most diminutive of his race, and certainly not live 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



55 



feet high. 1 was informed that he was of noble birth, his father 
liaving been an officer in the Russian army ; but the family was 
poor, and Nazar— this was his name — liked traveling and adventure. 
The man expressed himself as ready to do anything and go any- 
"where. fie said that he never drank. [ found out that he could 
speak Russian very well, and also the Kirghiz dialect. Bektchourin " 
said that he could answer for the fellow's honesty; and as he wanted 
fifty rubles on account, to leave with his wife. 1 agreed to advance 
this amount, though with a slight feeling of hesitation, after the 
way 1 had been taken in by the man with the aged mother. The 
• money was paid. Bektchourin, embracing me, said good-by, and 
it was agreed that the servant should come to the inn the f oliowing 
morning, when we would start on our travels. 

Long before day-break I was up making preparations, and by the 
time the Tartar arrived 1 had packed up most of the provisions. And 
then came the tug of war, for there were the servant, sleigh, horses, . 
and luggage; but how on earth to put the luggage into the vehicle, 
and afterward to find room for my legs— this was a problem which 
it appeared impossible to solve. 

ISazar first arranged the parcels in one manner and then in an- 
other, but all to no "purpose. . At last, the inventive genius of the 
head waiter came to the rescue, when, by firmly tying some of the 
provision- boxes to the edges of the sleigh, there was sufficient space 
Jeft for me to sit down. Fortunately my servant was a dwarf, his 
personal luggage being adapted to his stature. Balancing himself on 
the top of the gun-case and saddle-bags, he looked round for orders. - 
" Off!" I cried; and away we galloped down the principal street of 
Orenburg, escorted by the good wishes and farewells of the inmates - 
©f the hotel. 

A biting east wind, but a bright clear atmosphere, and in a few 
moments 1 was driving along the river Ural. Every now and then 
we encountered a caravan" of camels drawing sleighs laden with - 
cotton from Tashkent. Any one only accustomed to the camels of 
the Libyan sands would hardly recognize any affinity between the 
undersized and shaggy animals with lion-like manes which are met 
with in the steppes," and the huge sleek " ships of the desert" to be 
found in the African Sahara. Nature has supplied the Kirghiz 

- camels with every requisite for resisting a bitterly cold clime, and 
the hardy beasts could be seen striding through the snow where it 

" was four feet deep, and where horses would have been of no avail. - 
Here a Cossack galloped by us, brandishing, his long spear as he 
quickly vanished in the distance; and then we met some Kirghiz- 
wanderers, their ruddy faces— red as lobsters— offering a striking- 
contrast to the sallow- visaged Russians 1 had left behind. 

1 must say 1 congratulated myself on "the purchase of the sheep- - 
is kin clothes. In the keen air which surrounded, us it was impossi- 
ble to perceive the slightest smell, and for the first time during my 
sleigh journey 1 was feeling tolerably warm. "We arrived at the 
station-house in capital time. In less than ten minutes fresh post- 
liorses were harnessed, and 1 was again en route. Nothing could 
Iiave been more uninteresting than the country through w^hich we '• 
were traveling; naught but a bleak white plain, gave for the low 



56 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



ridge of Ural Mountains which, lying far away on our left, slightly- 
broke the monotony of the scene. 

Three stations had been left behind us; 1 had determined to put 
another stage— Krasnogoisk— between myself and Orenburg. Nazar 
•was a little famished; he had started without any breakfast, and a. 
delighted expression passed over tiis countenance when I announced 
to him my intention of halting a short time at Krasnogorsk. 

" Excellent milk there," he remarked, at the same time smacking: 
his lips; " eggs, too. Please God, we will stop." 

1 was myself beginning to experience a sensation of emptiness in 
my inner man; the glass of tea and rusk 1 had swallowed before 
leaving Orenburg were not very staying condiments, and 1 desired 
the driver to hurry on as fast as possible. However, the old prov- 
erb, " The more haste the less speed," proved, alas! to be a true one. 

The afternoon was drawing to a close, and the golden orb could t 
be seen dimly descending in the far-off west, when 1 became aware, j 
by the numerous exclamations of my Tartar driver, principally f 
consisting, as 1 afterward ascertained, of strong expressions, that he \ 
was not at all contented with his horses. At starting, I had re- ; 
marked upon their appearance. They were as thin as laths, or, as 
Jorrocks would have said, " as herring-gutted as greyhounds," the 
ribs of the animal in the shafts looking as if they' might at any 
moment pierce the skin. The driver had harnessed his beasts in 
what the Russians call goose fashion, that is to say, one in the shafts- 
and the other two as leaders. His short whip, with lash some twelve 
feet long, and which previously he had allowed to trail behind the 
sleigh, was now continually in the air, while the thong, thick as my 
wrist at the handle end, resounded from the flanks of the overtaxed 
animals— sounds like pistol-shots breaking the deep stillness of the 
snowy waste. 

In answer to the question as to w T hat was the matter, the one 
word V Bouran " was his answer; and by the way the gradually 
rising gale was beginning to drift the snow across our path, it be- 
came evident that we were about to encounter a heavy storm. 

Presently the atmosphere became denser with flaky particles, the 
cold becoming more and more intense. The last rays of the setting 
sun had disappeared from view, and, in spite of all my wraps, I 
began to feel the first insidious onslaught of the elements. 

Darker and darker grew the shades around, till at last I could 
barely distinguish the driver's back; and my little Tartar servant 
perched like a monkey at his side, informed me, in a melancholy 
tone, that we had lost our way. It was the case. We were off the 
track, while our wearied animals, up to their flanks and breast-deep 
in the snow, were vainly endeavoring to plow a passage forward. A 
final effort caused by the pitiless lash of our driver's whip, and the 
goaded steeds bursj through the barrier. Up and down went the 
sleigh, bounding wildly over the treacherous furrow, till at last one 
of the horses stumbled and fell, breaking his rope harness, and 
bringing us to a dead halt. 

Our team had collapsed, that was evident, and the driver seemed 
to have equally succumbed, for he left off swearing, and his whip, 
which up to that moment had never ceased cracking, lay stretched! 
out behind the vehicle. He got off the seat, and, having with dim- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



57 



culty succeeded in raising the fallen animal, jumped on his back 
and made a wide cast round, in the hope ot discovering the track. 

" 1 am starving," said my little Tartar, in a melancholy tone; " 1 
had no breaKfast — my belt is very loose;" and, suiting the action to 
the words, he commenced tightening the strap round his waist, in 
order the better to resist the wolt inside. 1 had some bread and 
chocolate in my pocket, and, dividing it with him, we stopped for a 
while the pangs of hunger. 

In about an hour's time the driver returned, and in a mournful 
tone informed me that he had lost his way, that we must sleep out, 
and that in all probability we should be frozen. Not a pleasant 
piece of intelligence, with the thermometer below zero, and a hurri- 
cane searing the face as if it were with a red-hot iron if we exposed 
the smallest piece of skin to its onslaught; while the flakes, drifting 
higher and higher around the sleigh, threatened, if the storm con- 
tinued m uch long 3r, to bury us alive. 

There was no wood in the neighborhood— nothing with which 
we would make a fire — and the sleeping-sack, which 1 at once 
thought of, proved useless, owing to the small size of the aperture. 
"We had no shovel to make a snow-house, and there was naught to 
•do save to sit it out the live-long night. 

My hands and feet first began to smart, and the nails to ache as if 
they were being scorched over a fire— a nasty, burning, gnawing 
sensation which eat into the joints and then died away in a dull feel- 
ing of indescribable numbness which seized all the limbs. The pain 
was considerable, although it did not amount to that agony experi- 
enced from severe frost-bites, and which 1 had to undergo later on 
in the journey. A heavy weight seemed to bear me down, and I 
dozed off for a second, till aroused once more to the reality of exist- 
ence by the groaning of my little servant. He was murmuring some- 
thing to himself in a low tone, but not one word of complaint ever 
escaped his lips. 

I desired him to get inside, and, giving the Tartar coachman all 
the furs that could be spared, we pulled ourselves together, as it is 
commonly termed, strung our nerves for the occasion, and deter- 
mined not to go to sleep. 

There was now no more pain, and my thoughts began to wander 
to far-off places, while well-known faces came and looked at me, 
then flitted away in the waste, and were replaced by well-spread 
banquet-halls, laden with viands which vanished as in my dream 1 
strove to partake. It was over and I was lost to consciousness, 
wrhen I was suddenly aroused by a sharp tap on my elbow, and a 
violent shaking from the hands of my follower. "Do not close 
your eyes, sir," he said. " or you will never open them again." 

It was a hard task making the effort, but it was done, and pres- 
ently 1 had, in my turn, to keep him from succumbing to the cold. 
All this time the driver was uttering some grunting exclamations 
from beneath the s&ow, which my slight knowledge of the Tartar 
language did not allow me to comprehend ; loud hoarse sounds and 
ejaculations blurting forth at intervals and breaking the stillness of 
the night, for the wind had fallen, and a dead silence reigned around. 

" WUat ishe doing?" 1 inquired of my servant; " is he praying?" 



58 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



"No, sir," was the reply; "he is only lamenting his fate, and: 
swearing at the horses for having brought us into this plight." 

So the night wore on, and those only who have lain on a sick-bed, 
and heard the endless tick of the clock as the hands go round the- 
dial, can tell how glad we were when the first faint streak of color 
in the far-off east warned us that the day was breaking. "We then 
pulled out the driver from beneath liis cold, white canopy, and 
found him, though very stiff, otherwise not much the worse for hi^ 
night's lodging. He shook the snow from off his furs, and then, 
stretching himself two or three times to see if his joints were all 
right, proceeded to mount one of the horses, and said that he would. 
ride off to the next station for help. This he did, *iaking his way 
as best he could to the road, now distant from us nearly a mile, at 
times disappearing from our gaze as horse and rider struggled 
through the piled-up snowy ridges. 

An hour sped by, and yet another, but there was no longer any 
danger in seeking sleep, and at midday I was aroused by a friendly 
pressure from the hand of a farmer, who had been summoned to our 
assistance by the driver. 

'• Well, brother," said the jolly round-faced old countryman, 
"cheer up: we have arrived in time, praise be to God! Kow t 
then, children," to some of his laborers who had come with him,, 
and who were provided with spades and shovels, "dig out the 
sleigh." This was soon done, a well-earned remuneration bestowed 
on the kind-hearted peasants, when with three fresh horses we soon 
regained the road, and, an hour later, the station. 

It had been a slow journey, for we had taken twent3'-one hours to 
go eighteen miles; however, we were fortunate in not having lost 
something else besides time; and a little while after our arrival, hav- 
ing partaken of a strange culinary composition of .Nazar's, made of 
rice, eggs, and chocolate, boiled in milk over a spirit-lamp— this 
strange mixture proving, in our ravenous state, the most savory of 
dishes — 1 felt myself once more in working order, and ready to start. 

My bad luck still continued, the Fates were again unfavorable; 
for, on arriving at the next station, 1 found congregated there four 
passengers, all prevented from traveling by a snow-storm. Among 
them was the carrier with the mail from Orenburg to Tashkent, a 
short, thick-set, sturdy-looking fellow, with a revolver at his waist y 
and a determined, dare-devil expression on his countenance; not the 
sort of fellow that any Kirghiz or Tartar marauders would be likely 
to get the better of in an encounter. 

He told me that the storm was very great, and it was useless at- 
tempting to go forward for the present, as, if he were to do so, he cer- 
tainly would be benighted on the road, and very likely be frozen. 
The wind, according to him, was the main difficulty; for, cutting 
against the horses' faces, it caused them so much pain that the poor 
beasts could not face it, and this, he said, was the reason that trav- 
elers found themselves so constantly driving off the track. 

Then came an officer and his young wife, who were returning to- 
St. Petersburg from Tashkent, the lady looking little capable of re- 
sisting the rough life she would have to lead before reaching the rail- 
way at Sizeran. They had a comfortable, close sleigh, arranged' 
with every requisite for keeping the travelers protected from the eie- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



59 



merits, but, in spite of this, the lady, who unfortunately looked in 
a delicate state of health, had suffered a great deal in the journey. 

Notwithstanding all the precautions which had been taken, she 
found it impossible to keep her feet warm, the circulation in her ex~ 
tremities being sometimes quite checked by the cold wind which 
penetrated to the bones through carriage, wraps, and all. 

Another benighted traveler was a doctor on his way to visit a pa- 
tient, who lived in a village about fifty miles further on the road. 
The sick man's residence was situated miles from a physician, and 
he had to send all the way to Orenburg for medical assistance. It 
appeared that he was suffering from a violent quinsy, or sore throat, 
an illness which is exceedingly rapid in its effects. The dispatch 
for the doctor had been sent off eight days previous, and probably 
when the son. of Esculapius arrived he would find that the individual 
had either recovered entirely or had been buried in the family vault. 

The medical gentleman had come away without any caustic, and 
-eagerly inquired if any of us had a medicine-chest or could supply 
the deficiency. 

My own traveling companions, the Cockle's pills and some bottles 
of cholera medicine, did not seem to be applicable in the case men- _ 
tioned, though, if the sick man had been an Arab, 1 should have ad- 
ministered the f ormer freely, and probably with success, as faith is 
worth any amount of physic, and effects most marvelous cures. 

Bleeding is still very much in vogue amidst the Russian practi- 
tioners, and one of the party suggested that a little blood-letting 
might be advisable, and lower the patient's inflammation. 

The doctor shook his head, and immediately commenced a long 
professional dissertation, which he interlarded with various Latin 
words, in order to duly impress us with his classical education, but 
lie did not seem entirely to dislike the idea of the lancet, which 1 
liad but little doubt he eventually tried upon the unfortunate patient. 

There was not much reticence among the party, each traveler being 
plied with different questions, and having to submit to a cross-ex- 
amination as to who he was, from whence he came, where he was 
going to, and what was his business. In fact, the inquiries were of" 
so exhaustive a character, the more particularly those made by the 
surgeon, that 1 had serious thoughts of telling him my age, income, 

\ and what 1 had for dinner the previous evening, in the hope of* fully 

; satisfying his curiosity. 

j The evening wore on, and one by one our party lay down to sleep, 
or to find what rest they could obtain, on the wooden planks of the 
floor, the lady being accommodated upon the sofa. In spite of the 
hardness of the boards, we were all speedily plunged in the arms of 
Morpheus, the cold winds and exposure during the previous night 
haVrog taken more out of me tlian any other clime which 1 had 
.hitherto experienced. 

The burning rays of a tropical sun on an African Sahara dry up 
the sap of the human frame, while a long camel journey fatigues 
the rider, but nothing like the pitiless cold and physical suffering 
which inevitably accompany a winter tour 1 1) rough Russia, 

At long intervals travelers arrived from Orenburg, and then the 
repose of our party would be broken for a moment by the new- 
comers, who strode in to take a share of the planks. There was no 



GO 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



light in the room, and fresh arrivals, in their endeavors to find a 
clear space on the floor, freely trod upon the body of the earner. 
Some strong language issued from the lips of the man with the let- 
ter-bags, for which he was rebuked by the son of Esculapius, who, 
even at that hour of the night, could not retrain from inflicting 
upon us a Latin quotation. 

CHAPTEB XIV. 

I determined to take advantage of the presence of the man with 
the mails, and said that 1 would continue the journey with him, 
hoping by this means the quicker to reach my destination. The car- 
rier had no objection, and, after a considerable delay in obtaining 
horses for our sleighs, we started. There was an advantage in ac- 
companying him, for he was well provided with shovels and spades 
to dig out his vehicle in the event of the horses straying from the 
path and stumbling into a snow-drift. The main difficulty 1 should 
have would be to keep up with him, this being owing to* the supe- 
riority of the teams which are supplied for the post. However, 1. 
hoped to do this by means of tea- money, an open sesame to the affec- 
tions of Kussian sleigh-drivers, and which 1 had hitherto found their 
most vulcerable point. Let it be known that you tip handsomely, 
and your Jehu will drive you along regardless of his master's inter- 
est, w T hile the regulation ten versis an hour can often be converted 
into half as much again. 

Alas! all my calculations were upset; once more I was doomed to 
disappointment. 1 began to think that there was some influence 
behind the scenes, purposely doing its best to retard me on my jour- 
ney. Hie tinkle of the bell on the carrier's sleigh resounded in my 
ears for the hrst half hour or so, when 1 fell asleep. 

On awaking a few moments later I found that the sounds were 
lost in the distance; my horses were traveling at a foot-pace, while 
the driver, who had descended from his seat, was flogging the poor 
beasts unmercifully, vainly endeavoring 1o get them into a trot. 

" How far are we from the station behind us?" I inquired. 

" Five 'versts," was the answer. 

I looked at my watch. We had been one hour and a half coming 
about three miles, and, in spite of the sleigh-man's whip and impre- 
cations, it seemed impossible that his weak team could drag us to 
the next stage. 

It was no use going on, so 1 desired him to return immediately, 
and, on arriving at the station, sent for the inspector, and also for 

- the book in which travelers inscribe any complaint they may wish 
to make. 

1 wrote in it that the carrier and myself had been detained lorty- 

- five minutes, counting from the time when our horses had been first 
ordered, and that finally the animals supplied me were so bad that 
they could not go out of a walk. 1 concluded my remarks by ex- 
pressing a hope that the inspector would be punished for keeping 

- such useless animals in his establishment. 4 

Having written down my grievance, 1 read it out to the interested 
party, to the great satisfaction of some other travelers who, like my- 
self, had suffered from his carelessness. The man now liccame 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



01 



seriously alarmed, and said that he had never been complained of 
before; "that he would be ruined; and that if 1 would only pardon 
him on this occasion, he would never err against another traveler. 

" Please, little father, pardon," he cried, " and 1 will send you 
on with three beautiful horses, full of fire and bursting with corn. ''" 

" Will you promise to make up for the lost time, and to catch the 
post at the next station? If so, 1 will pardon you; but if not, you 
shall suffer for your carelessness." 

The man caught at the chance, and 1 wrote down at the bottom 
of the page thatl would forgive him if he fulfilled these conditions, 
which, much to my surprise, he succeeded in doing. 

The country now improved very much in appearance. The low 
chain of mountains on my left was sometimes broken abruptly for a 
mile or so, when a single giant would rear itself up into space before 
us as if by its altitude to block the intervening gap. Various-colored 
grasses could be seen through the fleecy snow, golden-tinted and 
bright chestnut being the hues which predominated amidst the rising 
vegetation, while olive-colored brambles and thorns, sprinkled with 
somber fir and pine forests, strongly contrasted with the pale carpet 
glistening beneath a midday sun'. Stalactites in every form and 
shape hung pendent from the branches, the tenuous icicles reflecting 
through their transparent surface all the prismatic colors of a rain- 
bow. "Here spider-like webs of icy film spanned the frequent 
bushes, or, broken by a pitiless beam from the orb overhead, hung- 
in silky tresses, and floated in the rising breeze. There gnarled 
stumps and quaintly shaped blocks of timber, half-hid from the 
gaze by their wintry raiment, might have been antediluvian giants 
of a former world, suddenly awakened to existence, and shaking off 
their snowy coverlet; while the bright and varied dresses of the- 
peasantry afforded a pleasing change to the eye, after the similarity 
of color and costume 1 had remarked in European Russia. 

A considerable trade is carried on in the district between Oren- 
burg and Orsk in shawls and neck- wrappers. These are made of 
gossamer-like webs of goats'-hair woven into the articles above men- 
toned. They are marvelously light, a very large shawl, which can 
be put into an ordinary sized official envelope, not weighing more 
than a few ounces. What most surprises the traveler is the excessive 
warmness of these Oriental wraps, as well as the softness of their 
texture, many of them being so delicately made that they cau be 
passed through a finger-ring. Any oue who has seen the extraordi- 
nary lightness and softness of this material can understand what the 
author of an Eastern tale had in his mind's eye when he invented 
the story of the fairy tent which could shelter an army, and was yet 
so light as to be hardly perceptible to the touch. 

Among other kinds of shawls offered for sale at the various station- 
houses on the road, and where the good woman and her daughters 
entreat the traveler to purchase in so plausible and winning a^man- 
ner that it is difficult to say nay, are wraps made of hares'-down. 
This is woven by the wives of the farmers and peasants in the 
neighborhood into very warm sbavsls, and wbich aie softer, if pos- 
sible, than those made of goats' hail, although thev are not nearly so^ 
light? 

Ti*e price of these articles of female attire is not by any means ex- 



62 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



orbitant. A good shawl can be obtained for from thirty to forty- 
rubles; and 1 feel convinced that it some of our London trades-peo- 
ple were to send their traveling- agents to those parts, a very profita- 
ble return would be made on the capital invested ; for the shawls in 
question would command a ready sale in this country. 

Just before reaching Podgornaya, a halting-place on the highway, 
the road became very "precipitous. It was a dark night, though for- 
tunately unaccompanied by wind; but a thick mist— which had up- 
raised itself from the mass of vegetation which abounded throughout 
the district — made it extremely difficult for our driver to see the 
path before him. The road was bad, and in some places dangerous 
— now descending a steep decline, then taking a sudden bend, when 
■a hair's-breadth to right or left would have.caused a general smash. 
At last we came to a "spot where the slope was fearfully abrupt. At 
its steepest part our road branched off at right angles from the line 
in which we had been previously driving, and which terminated in 
a precipice, lc was not quite the sort of spot that any one would 
have cared to drive over on a dark night: and as for jnyself, 1 was 
unaware of the dangers of the route. "They only became apparent 
when I was returning along the same track by daylight, and home- 
ward-bound from Khiva. 

I The two drivers had a long discussion before they would attempt 
the descent. . When they at Last commenced operations, it was with 
the greatest care, and one sleigh at«a time, the two drivers stepping 
slowly backward, and leading the sliding steeds of my vehicle, after 
which they returned for the sleigh with the post. A slip w^ouid 
have been fatal; but luckily the Fates were on our side, and let us 
pass in safety. 

The weather became much warmer on approaching Orsk, and 1 
began-to flatter myself that the real cold of the journey was over, 
little anticipating what was strll in store. 

After crossing s few frozen streams, we entered the town, my dri- 
ver ciying out " Oura!"* at every moment to his horses, which, 
like himself, did nDt appear to be sorry that they had come to the 
end of tne stage. The town is a clean-looking one, and the houses 
aie well built, while an air of comfoit reigned alound delightful to 
behold, after the rough work we had been going through for the 
last few days. The driver pulled up at a little inn known by the 
name of the Tzarskoe Selo. It was filled with farmers and peasants, 
many of them much the worse tor liquor; and at a bar -just within 
the portico a man was engaged in pouring out vodki, which was eag- 
erly demanded by the customers. 

The amount of this spirit, which is quite as strong as whisky, that 
a Russian moujik can drink would be an interesting theme for 6ir 
Wilfrid Lawson to dilate upon in one of his periodical dissertations 
on the advantages of temperance. If the teetotalers of England, 
like some of their missionaiy brethren, should ever think of making 
converts abroad, they would have a magnificent field for their labors 
in Russia. Often when driving through the streets I have been 
struck by the sight of some figure or other lying prostrate in the 

*A Tartar word, from which, perhaps, our Avord "hurra" comes. It 
Signifies " beat." 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



snow. (t What is it?" 1 would ask; "is he dead?" "Xo; only 
drunk," would be the ieply, followed by a laugh, as if it were a 
good joke to see a man who 'had made a beast of himself. It may 
be that in proportion to the population there are not more drunkards 
in the Tzar's dominions than in England, or rather Scotland; but, 
at all events, to get drunk lowers a man in the opinion of the public 
in our country, whereas it is a feather in his cap in Russia. 

Fortunately, there was a vacant room in the inn, and here 1 was 
at once supplied with the smallest of basins and a table napkin. In 
the meantime 1 dispatched Nazar to the post to desire the inspector 
to send three horses immediately. There was no time to lose, and I 
wanted to hurry forward that afternoon. 

Presenily my man returned with a joyous countenance, which be- 
tokened something disagreeable. In fact, in all countries where 1 
have hitherto traveled, human nature, as typified in domestics, is 
much the same; they invariably look pleased when they have a piece 
of bad news to impart to their masters. 

" What is it?" 1 asked. " Sleigh broken?" 
No, sir. No horses to be had; that is all. General Kauffman 
went through early this morning and took them all. The inspector 
says you must wait till to-morrow, and that then he will have a 
team ready for you. It is nice and warm," continued Xazar, look- 
ing at the stove. " We will sleep here, little father; eat till we fill 
our clothes, and continue our journey to-morrow." 

" Nazar," 1 replied, giving my countenance the sternest expression 
it could assume, " I command;, you obey. We leave in an hour's 
time. Go and hire some horses as far as the next stage. If you find 
it impossible to obtain any at the station, try and get some from a 
private dealer ; but horses 1 must have. ' ' 

In a few minutes my servant returned with a still more joyful 
countenance than before. The inspector would not send any horses,, 
and no one could be found in the town who was inclined to let out 
his animals on hire. 

There was nothing to be done but to seaich myself. Nazar had 
evidently made up his mind to sleep at Orsk. However, I had made 
up mine to continue the journey. 

Leaving the inn, I hailed a passing sleigh, the driver appearing^ 
to me to have a more intelligent expression than his fellows. Getting 
into the vehicle, I inquired it he knew of any one who had horses to 
hire. 

" Yes," was the answer. One of his relatives had some; but the 
house to which I was driven was shut up, and no one was at home. 
1 began to despair, and think that 1 should have as much difficulty 
in obtaining horses at Orsk as 1 had in procuring a servant at Oren- 
burg. ... 

1 now determined to try what gold, or rather silver, would do, and 
said to the driver, " If you will take me to any one who has horses 
to hire, 1 will give you a ruble for yourself." 

" A whole ruble!" cried the man, with a broad grin of delight; and 
jumping off his seat, he ran to a little knot of Tartars, one of whom, 
was bargaining with the others for a basket of frozen £ sh, and began 
to ply them with questions. In a minute he returned. ■* Lefus 
go," he said; and with a " Burr" (the sound which is used by Rus- 



64 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



sians to urge on their horses) and a loud crack with his lash, we drove 

rapidly in another direction. 

I had arrived at the outskirts of the town, and we stopped before 
a dirty-looking wooden cottage. 

A tall man dressed in a long coat reaching to his heels, bright yel- 
low trousers, which were stufled into a pair of red leather boots, 
while an enormous black sheepskin cap covered his head, came out 
and asked my business. I said that 1 wanted three horses to go to 
the next stage, and asked him what he would drive me there for, the 
regular postal tariff being about two rubles. 

" One of noble birth," replied the fellow, " the roads are bad, but 
my horses will gallop the whole way. They are excellent horses; 
all the people in the town look a<, them, and envy me. They say 
how fat they are! look, bow round! The governor has not got any 
horses like mine in his stable. 1 spoil them; I cherish them; and 
they gallop like the wind. The people look, wonder, and admire. 
Come and see the dear little animals." 

" 1 have no doubt about it. They are excellent horses," 1 replied; 
*' but, what will you take me for?" 

" Let us say four rubles, your Excellency, and give me one on ac- 
count. One little whole silver ruble; for the sake of God let me put 
it in my pocket, and we will bless you." 

" All right," was my answer. " Send the horses to the Tzarskoe 
Selo Inn immediately." 

Presently the fellow rushed into my room, and, bowing to the 
ground, took off his cap with a grandiose air, then, drawing out the 
money 1 had given him from some hidden recess in the neighbor- 
hood of his skin, he thrust the ruble into my hand, and exclaimed, 
" Little father, my uncle owns one of the horses; he is very angry. 
He says he was not consulted in the matter, and that he loves the 
animal like a brother. My uncle will not let his horse leave the 
stable for less than five rubles. What is to be done? 1 told him 
that 1 had agreed to take you, and even showed him the money; but 
he is hard-hearted and stern." 

" Very well," I said, " bring round the horses." 

In a few minutes the fellow returned, and exclaimed, *' One of 
noble birth, 1 am ashamed!" 

"Quite right," 1 said; "you have every reason to be so. But 
I go on, is your uncle's hors3 dead?" 

" No, one of noble birth, not so bad as that; but my brother is 
| vexed. He has a share in one of the animals; he will not let me 
* drive him to the next station for less than six rubles," and the man, 
putting on an expression in which cunning, avarice, and pretended 
sorrow were blended, rubbed his forehead, and added, " What shall 
we do?" 

1 said, " You have a grandmother?" 

" Yes," he replied, much surprised. " How did you know that? 
1 have; a very old grandmother." 

"Well," 1 continued, "go and tell her that, fearing lest she 
should be annoyed if any accident were to happen during our jour- 
ney; for you know misfortunes occur sometimes ; God sends them," 
1 added, piously. " Yes, he does," interrupted the man; " we are 
simple people, your Excellency." " And, not wishing to hurt the 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



65 



old lady's feelings, should the fore leg of your uncle's horse or the* 
hind leg of your brother's suffer on the road, 1 have changed my 
Blind, and shall not go with you to-day, but take post-horses to-mor- 
row. ' ' 

The man now became alarmed, thinking that he was about to lose 
his fare, He rubbed his forehead violently, and then exclaimed, " I 
will take your Excellency for five rubles." 

"But your brother? 1 ' 

" Never mind: he is an animal; let us go." 

" No," I answered. " I shall wait— the post-horses are beautiful 
: . horses. I am told that they gallop like the wind ; all the people in 
J the town look at them, and the inspector loves them." 

" Let us say tour rubles, your Excellency." 

"But your uncle might beat you. I should not like you to be 
hurt " 

" No," wos the answer, " we will go;" and the knotty point be- 
ing thus settled, we drove off, much to the dissatisfaction of my 
little servant Nazar: a blue-eyed siren in Orsk having, as the Orient- 
als say, made roast meat of his heart, in spite of his being a married 
man. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The aspect of the country now underwent an entire change. We 
had left all traces of civilization behind us, and were regularly upon 
the steppes. Not the steppes as they are described to us in the sum- 
mer months, when hundreds of nomad tribes, like their forefathers 
•of old, migrate from place to place with their families, flocks, and 
herds, and relieve the dreary aspect of this vast flat expanse with 
their picturesque kibitkas, or tents, while hundreds of horses, graz- 
ing on the rich glass, are a source of considerable wealth to the 
Kirghiz proprietors. 

A large dining-table cohered with naught but its white cloth is 
not a cheery sight. To describe the country for the next one hun- 
dred miles from Orsk, I need only extend the table-cover. For here, 
there, and everywhere was a dazzling, glaring sheet of white as seen 
under the influence of a midday sun; then gradually softening 
down as the god of light sunk into the west, it faded into a vast, 
melancholy-looking, colorless ocean. This was shrouded in some 
places from the view by filmy clouds of mist and vapor, which rose 
in the evening air and shaded the wilderness around— a picture of 
desolation which wearied by its utter loneliness, and at the same 
time appalled by its immensity; a circle of which the center was 
everywhere, and the circumference nowhere. Such were the steppes 
as 1 drove through them at night-fall or in the early morn; and 
where, latigued by want of sleep, my eye searched eagerly, but in 
main, for a station. 

On arriving at the halting-place, which was about twenty-seven 
versts from Orsk, Nazar came to me, and said, " 1 am very sleepy; 
1 have not slept for three nights, and shall fall off if we continue 
the journey. " 

When 1 began to think of it, the poor fellow had a good deal of 
reason on his side. 1 could occasionally obtain a few moments' 

8 



CO 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



broken slumber, which was out of the question for him. I felt 
rather ashamed that in my selfishness 1 had overdriven a willing, 
horse, and the fellow had shown first-class pluck when we had to 
pass the night on the roadside; so, saying that he ought to have told 
me before that he wanted rest, 1 sent him to lie down, when, stretch- 
ing his limbs alongside the stove, in an instant he was fast asleep. 

The inspector was a good-tempered, fat old fellow,, with red 
Cheeks and an asthmatic cough. He had been 'a veterinary surgeon 
in a Cossack regiment, and consequently his services were much in 
request with the people at Orsk. He informed me that land could 
be bought on these flats for a ruble and a half a desyatin (2700 
acres); that a cow cost £3 2s. M.; a fat sheep," two years old, 12s. 
$cl.; and mutton or beef, a penny per pound. A capital horse could 
be purchased for three sovereigns, a camel for £7 10s., while flour- 
cost Is. Ad. the pood of 40 lbs. These were the prices at Orsk, but 
at times he said that provisions could be bought at a much lower 
rate, particularly if purchased from the Tartars themselves. The: 
latter had suffered a great deal of late years from the cattle-pest^ 
and vaccinating the animals had been tried as an experiment, but,, 
according to my informant, with but slight success. 

The Kirghiz themselves have but little faith in doctors or vets. It 
is with great difficulty that the nomads can be persuaded to have 
their children vaccinated: the result is, that when small-pox breas& 
out among them it creates fearful havoc in the population. Put- 
ting this epidemic out of the question, the roving Tartars are a. 
peculiarly healthy race. The absence of medical men does not seem 
'to have affected their longevity, the disease they most suffer from 
being ophthalmia, which is brought on by the glare of the snow in. 
Winter, and by the dust and heat in the summer months. 

After leaving Orsk, the podorojnaya, or passport system came^ 
in force, and my pass and self underwent the most rigid scrutiny?; 
the officials at the stations being very much alarmed lest any one- 
should escape their vigilance, and drive by the stations without 
' having his papers examined. 

1 could not help asking the inspector, at a place where the exami- 
nation was carried on in a very searching manner, if some horrible 
crime had not been committed in the neighborhood,, as it appeared 
to me that he was on the lookout for a criminal. 

",No," said the man, " that is not the reason; but we do not want 
any foreigners, particularly Englishmen, in these parts. Our orders 
in this respect are very strict. ' ' 

The cost of traveling was now reduced from four copecks per 
horse to two and a half; however, we found that a traveler did not 
gain much by this reduction, as the amount paid for this podorojnaya. 
very nearly made up for the difference. 1 now learned that the 
postal track was let out to some contractors, who receive a subsidy 
for carrying the post, and at the same time have to keep a certais 
number of horses' for the convenience of passengers. The stations 
Were filthily dirty, and the sofas in a disgusting state. Indeed, 
there were no arrangements made for washing, or for ablutions of. 
any kind; and if seems that the Russians are" of opinion that soap* 
and water are not required when traveling, and that the less wask - 
ang done on these occasions, the better. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



67 



On arriving at Karabootaok, a small fort the Russians have built, 
-317 miles from Orsk, 1 found that the term fort was a misnomer. 
The place is not fortified in any sense so as to resist a disciplined 
force, although a few resolute men could doubtless hold it for a long 
time against any number of Kirghiz or Tartar horsemen. 

I was obliged to halt for a time at this station. There was a snow- 
storm going on, while the wind howled and whistled about the 
„ house, driving before it in its course such clouds of flaky particles 
[ that no horse could face its onslaught. Later on, and when the 
wind had a little abated, I asked the inspector to give an order for 
three horses to be harnessed to my sleigh. But there were no ani- 
mals in the stables, and we had to wait several hours before some 
could be procured. As a rule, however, there was but little delay, 
;and the inspectors carried out their instructions to the letter. 

Formerly, and even in European Russia, passengers were some- 
times detained for days waiting for horses at the stations, the in- 
spectors not troubling their heads about any traveler, unless he 
happened to be an officer. There is a story to the effect that a 
Frenchman, who had been kept waiting a long-time for post- 
horses, and who couJd not induce the inspector to give him any, was 
much astonished by the behavior of a Russian captain. The latter, 
on asking for a fresh team, was told that there were no animals iu 
the stable. However, he at once procured a whip and chastised the 
official, the result of the whipping being the instant discovery of 
some horses. The Frenchman seized the idea, and taking his cane 
followed the example set him, which he found a most marvelous 
•specific in the course of his travels through Russia. 

Only a few years ago whipping was the order of the day; and, 
according to some accounts, the late Emperor Nicholas himself oc- 
casionally administered chastisement to his officers. But whip- 
ping in these days is out of the question, and so 1 had to remain 
kicking my heels about in the waiting-room, although in this in- 
stance 1 had a suspicion that the inspector had some horses in the 
stable. 

After waiting for several hours X was informed that some horses 
had been procured. The snow-storm had somewhat lulled, but the 
wind was almost as high as ever, and the cold more intense than 
anything hitherto experienced. On leaving the station 1 had for- 
gotten to put on my thick gloves, and took my seat in the sleigh, 
with each hand folded in the sleeve of its fellow, the fur pelisse in 
this way forming a sort of muff, and protecting my hands from the 
cold. The road was less -jolty than usual, and the sleigh glided 
along, comparatively speaking, smoothly. The change of motion 
before long produced an effect; leaning back in the vehicle, I fell 
iast asleepr 

In the course of my slumber my hands slipped from the warm 
fur covering in which "they were inserted, resting themselves on the 
side of the sleigh, unprotected by any thick gloves, and exposed to 
the full power of the biting east wind. This, if impossible to with- 
stand when stationary or on foot, was now doubly dangerous, owing 
to the movement of the sleigh, which, going in an opposite direc- 
'lion, added considerably to the force with w T hich the wind blew. 

in a few minutes 1 awoke; a feeling of intense pain had seized 



68 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



my extremities. It seemed as if they had been plunged into some 
corrosive acid Which was gradually eating the flesh Irom the bones. 

1 looked at my ringer-nails; they were blue; the fingers and back 
part of my hands were of the same color, while my wrists and the 
lower part of the arm were of a waxen hue. There was no doubfc 
about it, 1 was frost-bitten, and that in no slight degree; so, calling, 
to my servant, 1 made him rub the skin with some snow in hopes 
of restoring the vitality. This he did for several minutes, but all 
this time the same pain previously described was gradually ascend- 
ing my arms, while the lower portions of the limbs were lost to 
all sensation, dead to pain — dead to every sense of feeling — hanging- 
quite listlessly by my side, Nazar, in vain using all his energies so 
as to restore circulation. 

"It is no good," he said, looking sorrowfully at me; "we must 
get on as fast as possible to the station. How far off is it?" he- 
inquired of the driver. " Seven miles," was the answer. 

" Go, as fast as you can!" 1 cried. 

The pain, which by that time had ascended to the glands under 
my arms, had become more acute than anything 1 had hitherto ex- 
perienced. Apparently, extreme cold acts in two wa} r s on the ner- 
vous system; sometimes, and more mercifully, by bringing on a 
slumber from which the victim never awakes; and at others, by con- 
suming him, as it weie, over a slow fire, and limb by limb. All this 
time the perspiration was pouring down my forehead, my body it- 
self being as if on fire, the pain gradually ascending the parts at- 
tacked. 

There are moments in a man's life when death itself would be a 
relief. It was about the day that an unfortunate criminal * woulct 
have to undergo the last dread sentence of the law; and 1 remember 
distinctly the thought occurring to my mind, as to whether the phys- 
ical pain 1 was then undergoing was less than the mental agony of 
the poor wretch on the drop. 

Would the distance that separated us from the station ever be trav- 
ersed? each mile seeming to me a league, and each league a day's 
journey. At last we arrived. Hurrying to the waiting-room, 1 met 
three Cossacks, to whom I showed my hands. The soldiers led me 
into an outer room, and having taken off my coat and bared my 
arms, they plunged them up to the shoulder in a tub of ice and 
water. However, there was now no sensation whatever, and the 
limbs, which were of a blue color, floated painlessly in the water. 

The elder of the Cossacks shook his head and said, " Brother, it 
is a bad job; you will lose your hands." 

" They will drop oft," remarked another, " it we can not get back 
the circulation." 

" Have you any spirit with you?" added a third. 

IMazar, on hearing this, ran out and broucht in a tin bottle con- 
taining naphtha for cooking purposes, upon which the Cossacks, tak- 
ing my arms out of the icy water, proceeded to rub them with the 
Strong spirit. 

Rub, rub, rub; the skin peeled under their horny hands, and the 



* Wainwright. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



69 



spirit irritated the membrane below. At last a faint sensation like: 
tickling pervaded the elbow joints, and 1 slightly flinched. 

" Does it hurt?" asked the elder of the Cossacks. 

" A little." 

" Capital, brothers," he continued; "rub as hard as you can!" 
and after going on with the friction until the flesh was almost flayed, 
they suddenly plunged my arms again into the ice and water. I 
had not felt anything before, but this time the pain was very acute. 

"Good!" said the Cossacks. "The more it hurts, the better 
chance you have of saving your bands." And after a short time 
they let me take them out of the tub. 

" You are fortunate, little father," said the elder of the Cossacks. 
" If it had not been for the spirit, your hands would have dropped: 
off, if you had not lost your arms as well." 

Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor soldiers; and when 
1 forced on the elder of them a present for himself and comrades, 
the old soldier simply added, " Are we not all brothers when in mis- 
fortune? Would you not have helped me if 1 had been in a like 
predicament?" 

1 shook his hand heartily, and went to the waiting-room to rest on 
the sofa, as the physical shock just undergone had for the moment 
thoroughly prostrated me. My arms also were sore and inflamed,, 
the spirit having in some places penetrated the raw flesh; and it was 
several weeks before I thoroughly recovered from the effects of my 
carelessness. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

A few stations further on 1 met an officer, who asked very eag- 
erly if 1 were going to Kashgar — he had found out, by inquiry 
from the inspector, who 1 was— and he afterward assured me that 
there were thirty English officers in the above mentioned khanate 
engaged in drilling the inhabitants. He said that my compatriots 
had already organized a force of ten thousand men to resist the Rus- 
sian advance, and declaied that this information had come fiom 
Yakoob Bek's envoys, who had been sent from Kashgar to Tash- 
kent, and who had stated it to the Russians. 

I assured my informant that there was no truth whatever in the 
story, but with no effect; and he seemed thoroughly impressed with 
the idea that I was another agent of perfidious Albion, sent either 
to stir up the Kokandians or aid the Kashgarians against the de- 
signs of their northern foe. 1 could not help remarking that if such 
were my designs it would Have been far easier for me to have gone 
from India to~Kashgar tlran to have Gome through Russia, and, as 
it were, through the heart of the enemy's country; but even this ar- 
gument had no effect. Tashkent, according to 'him, was a sort of 
Paradise; the climate was excellent and the inhabitants actually 
boasted a theater. He said that the city contained five thousand 
Europeans and about seventy-five thousand natives, besides the gar- 
rison. The commerce with Bokhara was rapidly increasing, and 
Tashkent becoming a great emporium for all merchandise to and 
from Central Asia. 

According to my informant, the great desiie of General Kauff- 



70 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



inarm, the Governor-general of the province of Toorkistan, was to 
establish a railway from European Russia to Tashkent* The road 
trom Orenburg via Orsk, Kasala, and the town of Toorkistan had 
been surveyed, and was impracticable, owing to the nature of the 
soil. The line which would eventually unite the capital with the 
East would most likely pass through Western Siberia, and, accord- 
ing to all accounts, before very long some decisive steps would be 
taken with the object of carrying this idea into execution. 

As we w 7 ere nearing Irghiz, another fortress on the Orenburg- 
Tashkent road, which is on a larger scale than the stronghold at 
Karabootaok, although equally unserviceable should it ever be at- 
tacked by a force belonging to a civilized power, Kazar suddenly 
exclaimed, " Wolf!" and, seizing my gun-case, commenced un- 
strapping it. But the animal showed no disposition to allow me to 
-come to close quarters, and he slunk away as soon as he saw us, at 
a good jog-trot, not giving a chance for a shot. 

After another long and uninteresting drive through the same sort 
of desert, snow covered country which 1 have previously attempted 
to describe, we came to Terekli, a station which divides the territory 
under General Kauftmann's authority from the vast province, which 
acknowledges the government of Rryjinovsky, the Governor-general 
at Oienburg. I was now 761 1-2 versts, or about 500 miles, from 
Orenburg, and about to enter the province of Toorkistan, which ex- 
tends from this point to a line not yet decided npon by the Russian 
geographers. 

A colonel was in the waiting-room, and he had desired the inspec- 
tor not to allow any travelers to enter this apartment, for the official 
refused to allow me to go there, and took me into a little den in- 
habited by himself. 

Here the podorojnaya again underwent a most rigid examination. 
The inspector was very uncivil, saying if 1 wanted to rest I might 
stop in his room, but by no means enter the one set aside for travel- 
ers; and he then remarked that it was a gross piece of presumption 
on my part to think of associating with so exalted an individual as 
a Russian colonel. 

The station houses were much more comfortably arranged than 
those which 1 had seen in General Kryjinovsky's district. They 
were no ionger constructed of wood— which, by-the-way, was so in- 
fested with insects as to be a perpetual source of torment to the 
traveler— but of cement. The stoves, too, were betler arrauged, and 
the waiting-rooms furnished with divans covered with Oriental rugs, 
where we could rest, spared from the war hitherto waged on us by 
the insect tribe. 

Nazar now came to me with a melancholy face, "The bottles 
are broken," he said. On looking 1 found that the contents of some 
•bottles of strong pickles had become frozen into a solid mass of ice, 
and that in consequence the glass had been fractured. On a closer 
inspection, 1 found that the other bottles were in a similar state, and 
all of them had to be thrown away. The havoc made by the frost 
was the more remarkable as thcarticles in question had been care- 
fully packed in cotton-wool and in w r ooden cases, which, in their 
turn, had been thickly covered with hay. 

The disregard shown for the passengers' necks by the Tartar 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



sleigh- drivers in General Kaufftnann's district was, if possible, even 
greater than in Kryjincvsky's province. Whenever the road allowed,, 
the driver made his horses gallop the whole way, never once letting 
them trot. There was a notice put up in the waiting-rooms at each 
station to the effect that if a traveler should urge his driver to go 
more than the regulation pace, ten versts an hour, and in consequence 
any damage occur to the horses, the traveler was to he fined forty 
rubles. 1 could not help thinking that in Eussian Asia the authori- 
ties cared less for the travelers' lives than for horses, there being no 
punishment whatever for the drivers should they upset their fares ; 
while, to put it more tersely, 1 could not harm a horse for less than- 
forty rubles, my driver might break my neck for nothing. 

At another station, Nazar, who had jumped off the sleigh to order 
a fresh team, ran back to inform me that there were no horses in the 
stables. It appeared, on inquiry, that the man who had contr acted, 
to supply the track with horses had been ruined. The animals, 
which under the most favorable circumstances never received much 
care during the winter, had been halt starved, some had died, and: 
others been seized by the creditors in liquidation of their accounts.. 
The consequence was that instead of being supplied with three fresh 
horses, their place was taken by three gigantic camels. I should 
have thought that one of these enormous quadrupeds would have 
sufficed to draw my tiny vehicle; but, no! the order on the poclwoj- 
naya was to supply the bearer with three horses, and the number 
must be adhered to— such was the explanation given me by Nazar. 

It was a strange sight to see these gigantic beasts harnessed by 
some ropes to the little vehicle. 1 have tried many ways of locomo- 
tion in my life — from fire-balloons to bicyles, from canoes and bul- 
locks to cows, camels, and donkeys; while in the East the lime- 
honored sedan of our grandfathers has occasionally borne me and 
my fortunes— but never had 1 traveled in so comical a fashion. 

A Tartar rode the center camel. His head-gear would have called 
attention, if nothing else had, for he wore a large black hat which 
reminded me of an inverted coal-scuttle, while a horn-like protuber- 
ance sticking out from its summit gave a diabolical appearance to- 
his lobster-colored visage. The hat, which was of sheepskin, had 
the white wool inside, which formed a striking contrast to the flam- 
ing countenance of the excited Tartar. Re had replaced the usual 
knout used for driving by a whip armed with a thin cord lash, and 
he urged on his ungainly team more by the shrill sounds of his voice 
than by any attempt at flagellation, the Tartar seldom being able to-' 
get more than four miles an hour from the lazj brutes. 

All of a sudden the camel in the center quickly stopped, and its 
rider was precipitated head over heels on the snow. Luckily, it was 
soft falling; there were no bones broken, and in a minute or so he 
was again in the saddle, having changed the system of harnessing, 
and placed one of the camels as leader, while the other two were- 
driven as wheelers. We got on very fairly for a little while, when' 
the- foremost of our train, having received a rather sharper applica- 
tion of the lash than he deemed expedient, remonstrated with his 
rider by lying down. Coaxing and persuasion were now used; Ue. 
was promised the warmest of stalls, the must delicious water, if he 
Would only get up. But this the beast absolutely declined to do.. 



A KIDE TO KHIVA. 



'until the cold from Ibe snow striking against his body induced him 
to rise from the ground. 

We now went even slower than before. Our driver was afraid to 
use his lash for fear of another ebullition of temper on the part of the 
delinquent, and confined himself to cracking his whip iu the air. 
The sounds of this proceeding presently reaching the ears of the 
leader, perhaps made him think that his companions were under- 
going chastisement. Anyhow, it appeared to afford him some satis- 
faction, for quickening his stride he compelled his brethren behind 
to accelerate their pace, and after a long, wearisome drive we event- 
I nally arrived at our destination. 

j The country began now to change its snowy aspect, and party- 
covered grasses of various hues dotted the steppes around. The 
Kirghiz had taken advantage of the more benignant weather, and 
hundreds of horses were here and there to be seen picking up what 
they could find. In fact, it is extraordinary how any of these- 
animals manage to exist during the winter months, as the nomads 
hardly ever feed them with corn, trusting to the slight vegetation 
which exists beneath the snow. Occasionally the poor beasts perish 
by thousands, and a Tartar who is a rich man one week may find 
himself a beggar the next. This comes from the frequent snow- 
storms, when the thermometer sometimes descends to from forty to 
fifty degrees below zero, Fahrenheit; but more often from some 
slight thaw taking place for perhaps a few hours. Tnis is sufficient 
to ruin whole districts, for the ground becomes covered with an im- 
penetrable coating of ice, and the horses simply die of starvation, 
not being able to kick away the frozen substance as they do the 
snow from the grass beneath their hoofs. No horses which I have 
ever seen are so hardy as these little animals, which are indigenous 
to the Kirghiz steppes; perhaps for the same reason that the Spar- 
tans of old excelled all other nations in physical strength, but with 
this difference, that nature doles out to the weakly colts the same 
fate which the Spartan parents apportioned to their sickly offspring. 

The Kirghiz never clothe their horses, even in the coldest winter. 
They do not even take the trouble to water them, the snow eaten by 
the animals supplying this want. Toward the end of the winter 
months the ribs of the poor beasts almost come through their sides; 
but once the snow disappears, and the rich vegetation which replaces 
it in the eaily spring comes up, the animals gain flesh and strength, 
and are capable of performing marches which many people in this 
country would deem impossible, a hundred-mile ride not being at 
all an uncommon occurrence in Tartary. Kirghiz horses are not 
generally well shaped, and can not gallop very fast, but they can 
traverse enormous distances without water, forage, or halting. 
When the natives wish to perform any very long journey they gen- ' 
erally employ two horses: on one they carry a little w r ater in a skin, 
and some corn, wiiile they ride the other, changing from time to 
time, to relieve the animals. 

It is said that a Kirghiz chief once galloped with a Cossack escort 
(on two horses) 200 miles in twenty-four hours, the path extending 
for a considerable distance over a mountainous and rocky district,. 
The animals,, however, soon recovered from the eff ecs of the jour- 
jney, although they were a little, lame for the first few days. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



An extraordinary march was made by Count Borkh to the Sam, 
in May, 1870. The object of his expedition was to explore across 
the Ust L : rt, and it possible to capture some Kirghiz auls .(villages), 
which were the headquarters of some marauding bands from the 
town of Kungrad. The Russian officer determined to cross the 
northern Tcbink, and by a iorced march to surprise the tribes which 
nomadized on the Sam. Up to that time only small Cossack detach- 
ments had ever succeeded in penetrating to this locality. To ex- 
plain the difficulties to be overcome, it must be observed that the- 
Ust Urt plateau is bounded on all sides by a scarped cliff, known by 
the name of the Tchink. It is very steep, attaining in some places 
an elevation of from 400 to 600 feet, and the tracks down its ragged- 
sides are blocked up by enormous rocks and loose stones. Count 
Borkh resolved to march as lightly equipped as possible, and with- 
out baggage, as he wished to avoid meeting any parties of the 
nomad "tribes on his road. His men carried three days' rations on 
their saddles, while the artillery took only as many rounds as the 
limber- box would contain. The expedition was made up of 150 
Orenburg Cossacks, 60 mounted riflemen, and a gun, which was 
taken more by way of experiment than for any other reason, the 
authorities being anxious to know if artillery could be transported 
in that direction. 

The troops at the outset met with serious obstacles in the passes 
over the northern Tchink, horses and men coming down every 
minute. The gun had to be dragged up the first pass by fifty 
dismounted Cossacks supplied with ropes. But, notwithstanding the 
difficulties experienced, the. troops marched sixty miles, and did not 
halt till they had descended. the following day to Kurgan Tchagai. 
Kow commenced a long, sterile, sandy steppe. There was no 
forage under foot, and no water save at considerable intervals, the 
wells being 180 feet deep. However, the little force again marched 
lor sixty miles without a halt, when its leader was obliged to 
abandon the enterpiise and retrace his steps, owing to the absolute 
dearth of provisions, the Kirghiz having received timely warning ot 
his approach, and made off a few hours before the arrival of "the- 
party. The troops reached their quarters (J ebyske) on the sixth 
day, after a march of 266 miles over a desolate and arid country. 
The heat had been excessive, the thermometer sometimes reaching 
117 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, while the nights were cold 
and frosty. The insufficiency of supplies had been so felt that the 
men, on the fourth day ot the expedition, were obliged to kill and 
eat a Cossack horse. There were no sick in the party, and only- 
twelve horses, which had been ridden by the riflemen, were found to 
have suffered from sore backs; this being occasioned by the men 
not having properly adjusted their saddles before mounting. Sim- 
ilar rapidity characterized a raid made by Count Borkh in the sum- 
mer of 1869 upon the aul of the Kirghiz Amantai, a chief who* 
nomadized at that time on the Teress^Akhana, a tributary of the 
Khobda. 

Count Borkh, who was then constructing the Ak-Tiube Fort, 
formed a flying column ot seventy Orenburg Cossacks, and, accom- 
plishing nearly 133 miles in two days, by secluded paths and valleys 
leached Mui'tukY Intelligence was here received that Amantai was 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



nomadizing with his kinsmen, the Chiklins; and as the ties of clan- 
ship are held in great esteem among the Kirghiz, the whole success 
of the detachment depended upon its falling upon the Chiklins un- 
awares. 

The object of the detachment was favored by the inclemency of 
the night, which was such as is seldom experienced in the steppes. 
Taking advantage of the darkness, Count Borkh ordered the Cos- 
sacks to tie up their sabers, cover their stirrup-irons, and put nose- 
bags over their horses' mouths, to prevent them from neighing. 

In utter darkness, and amid the howling of the storm, the Cos- 
sacks passed among the sleeping auls, with the assistance of a trusty 
guide, and the constant flashes of the lightning. 

At daybreak the detachment was far on its road, and perceiving 
on the banks of a rivulet the traces of some Kirghiz, who had just 
quilted the spot, it trotted forward, and soon descried in a large 
.ravine some auls, among which was that of Amantai. 

It was necessary to gallop the distance lo the auls as quickly as 
possible, so as not to give the Kirghiz time to recover. Forbidding 
the Cossacks to fire, Count Borkh dashed at the auls, and demanded 
from the astonished Kirghiz the surrender of Amantai, who was at 
once given up. 

Apprehending an attack on their return journey, the Cosacks 
formed a sort of movable square, and throwing out a chain of skir- 
mishers around the herd which they had captured (about 900 head), 
prepared, in the event of attack, to dismount and fire over the sad- 
dle. The Kirghiz followed at a respectful distance, but, observing 
the precautions which had b3en taken, commenced gradually to 
drop off. The detachment reached Ak-Tiube in six days without 
contretemps, after a march of 222 miles, and with the loss of only 
two lame horses. 

From the incidents which 1 have cited, it will be at once seen 
that the Kirghiz horses yield to none in strength and endurance, and 
that a nation which is able to dispose of from 300,000 to 400,000 
Cossacks, mounted upon steeds such as 1 have described, is a very 
formidable embodiment of military power. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The jolting imparted by the motion of the camels to the sleigh 
had been too much for the wooden frame-work, and an inspector 
who gave me this intormation declared that it would be impossible 
for us to continue the journey save in another carriage. 

Nazar, however, was of opinion that, this statement on the part of 
-the official was an interested one, and only made to induce me to 
hire one of his own vehicles. But as the chances appeared tolerably 
evenly balanced in favor of my- sleigh reaching Kasala, or of my 
beinglett on the road— not a pleasant thing to look forward to, in 
the month of January, in the steppes — I determired to be on the 
safe side and leave it behind, though with feelings of regret, as if 1 
were parting with an old friend; for it had carried myself and fort- „ 
unes for more than a thousand miles.. 

The sleigh in which we now found ourselves was sail in ore like a 



A RIDE TO EHITA. 



75 



coffin than the one 1 had abandoned. In addition to being narrow, 
it was short; and after once wedging myself in, there was no pos- 
sibility of stretching ray legs till 1 arrived at the next station. 

There is in the Tower a singular instrument of torture, invented 
by some diabolical genius of the Middle Ages, and called the 
" Scavenger's Daughter." The victim who was wedded, as it was 
termed, to tuis fiendish contrivance could not make the slightest 
movement, his limbs and body being compressed into the smallest, 
space. Of such a. nature was the sleigh in which 1 whs now travel- 
ing; and if Daute had ever been placed in a similar predicament, he- 
would undoubtedly have added yet another way of punishing the 
ungodly 1o the long list of torments in his " Inferno." 

Our driver pulled up at a station called Soppak. We were rapid- 
ly nearing Kasala. When we continued our journey, we passed by 
small salt lakes, which were covered wilh thick ice; while far away 
in the distance, and about forty versts from us, lay the Sea of Aral, 
which, according to the inspector, was also frozen for several versts 
from its shores, thus rendering navigation impossible.' A salt 
breeze was blowing straight in our faces. It parched and dried, 
up the skin, and, in spite of the cold weather, produced a state of 
f everishness ; while the tea which we diank was not at all calculated, 
to quench our thirst, as the only water which could be procured 
had a brackish taste and strong saline flavor. In fact, the whole 
country in this district is impregnated with salt for miles around,, 
and undoubtedly at some not very remote date has been covered by 
the sea. 

The snow became less and less, till at last the horses could scarce- 
ly drag the vehicle over the thinly covered ground; and when we 
stoped at a halting-place about five stations from Kasala, it was 
necessary to abandon the sleigh and hire a carriage. Slowly we 
rolled along the road, a lough and fatiguing one for the half-starved 
horses, which were so weak lor want of food that they could fmrdly 
put one leg before another : when another heavy snow-storm warned 
us that winter was still raging on in front. 

The evening was well advanced. Tne last station but one had 
been reached; so 1 resolved to sleep there, and enter the town the 
following morning, not Knowing where 1 should be able to find ac- 
commodation should we arrive at Kasala in the still hours of tiie 
night. There was no inspector in the station, for it was Christmas- 
day — not according to our English reckoning, for that had been 
passed at Orenburg, but the Russian anniversarj r of the same event, 
which is celebrated according to the old style, and takes place twelve 
days after our own. The official, finding it dull all alone, had given 
himself a holiday, and gone off to Fort dumber One, there to eat, 
drink, and be merry. 

1 must say I was sorry not to have been able to arrive in time for 
the anniversary festival, which is kept by the Russians with not one 
whit less pomp or feasting than in our own country. With them, 
as with us, it is customary for all the member's of a family to assem- 
ble beneath one roof. Rich and poor relations unite together, the 
festive board is spread, and unusual hospitality prevails; while, 
later on, a Christmas-tree, laden with fruit and presents, rejoices 
the souls of the more juvenile population. Pleasure, however, has 



76 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



its dark side, and vodki, like punch, can not be drunk with im- 
punity; while the appearance ot the Russians the morning after the 
feast plainly tells its tale. 

Russian girls frequently amuse themselves at this time of year by 
attempting to discover what sort of a husband will eventually lead 
them to the altar. A favorite manner ot doing ibis is by so-called 
divination. The amorous female who is tired~of a celibate life sits, 
in the mystic hours of the night, between two large mirrors. On 
each side she places a candle, and then eagerly watches until she 
can see twelve reflected lights, when, if ihe Fates are propitious, she 
ought also to discern the husband she desires portrayed in the glass 
before her. Another method of divinalion is to have supper" laid 
tor two, when, if the young lady is in luck, the apparition ot the 
futuie husband will come and sit down beside her: but. in order to 
secure success, the girl must not divulge to any one her intention of 
thus attempting to divine futuritv. 

There js a story told in Russia to the effect that the daughter of a 
rich farmer was in love with a young lieutenant, and he, suspecting 
that she would probably have supper laid for two, climbed the wall 
ot the garden, and, sitting down by her side, partook of the prepared 
banquet ; the girl being under the impression that it was his appari- 
tion, and not the real Simon Pure. On leaving the room, the officer 
forgot his sword, which he had unbuckled before he sat down to sup- 
per; and the girl, finding the weapon after his departure, hid it in 
the cupboard as a memento of the visit. Later on she married an- 
other suitor, and he, fancying that there was some rival who sup- 
planted him in his wife's affection, and one day discovering the 
sword, was confirmed in his suspicions, and killed her in alii of 
passion. 

Sometimes the inquisitive husband-seeker will take a candle, and, 
melting the wax, pour it on the snow, after which she strives to dis- 
cern in the hardened substance the likeness ot him she seeks: while 
a very favorite amusement at this season of the year, and when 
several girls are congregated under the same roof, is to divine by the 
aid of a cock. Each girl, taking some corn, makes a small heap on 
the floor, and there conceals a ring. The chanticleer is then intro- 
duced, and is let loose beside the corn. Presently he begins to peck 
at the heaps of grain. At last one of the rings is exposed to view, 
when its ownei\ according to the popular belief, will outstrip her 
companions in the race for matrimony. 

We left our quarters at daybreak. I had been informed that there 
was an inn at the fort, and determined to drive there at once, and 
not go to the regular poslal station at Kasala, so as to avoid losing 
anytime. As we neared our destination, the country on both sides 
of the road was covered with sheets of ice. The frozen water was 
an overflow from the Syr Darya, or Jaxartes, -which in the Autumn 
had risen far above its banks and inundated the country in theneigh- 
boihood. The air was bright and pure, and my spiiitsrose with the 
idea that probably my sleigh-traveling was over, and that now 1 was 
about to commence another phase in my journey — the march to 
Khiva. From the information which 1 had been able to gather on 
the road, it appeared that there was snow on the ground all the way 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



77 



from Kasala to the newly-annexed khanate. If so, it was all the 
better for my journey, as we should have no difficulty about water. 

We now drove into the little town of Kasala, otherwise known as 
Kasalinsk, or Fort IN umber One. The inhabitants are composed of 
nomad Kirghiz, who pitch their kibitkas, or tents, in the outskirts of 
the town, and there pass the Winter, migrating once more in the 
early Spring ; of Russian and Tartar merchants, who live in one- 
storied brick or cement-built houses; while Jews, GreeKs, Khivans, 
Tashkentians, Bokharans,and representatives of almost every country 
in Asia, are to be met with in the streets. Kasala is a place possess- 
ing considerable commercial importance iu Central Asia, owing to 
its geographical position, all goods coming to Russia from Bokhara, 
Khiva," Tashkent, and Kokan having to pass it on the way. The 
entire population is about 5000 ; while at the time of my visit it was 
garrisoned by a local infantry force of 350 men, under a commandant, 
and a cavalry regiment about 400 strong. In addition to this force, 
there were the sailors of the Aral fleet (four small steamers, drawing 
but little water, and able to ascend the Amu Darya to within a few 
miles of Petro Alexandrovsk, a Russian fort, built in Khivan terrU 
tory, which has been recently annexed to the Russian Empire, in 
•spite of Count Schouvaloft's assurance to her Majesty's late Govern- 
ment). • The crews of these vessels augmented the garrison by about 
750 men, There were a few nine and four pounders, and a small 
detachment of artillery permanently stationed within the walls, 
while there were also fourteen small guns, capable, however, of 
throwing a ten-pound shell. These had been taken out of the 
steamers, and were available should they be required. 

The fort itself is in the shape of half a star. It is an earthwork, 
•defended on the south by a bastioned front which extends to the 
banks of the Syr Darya, here a"bout half a verst wide. The fort is 
surrounded by a dry ditch and a parapet about eight feet high and 
twelve thick, the ditch being about thirty feet broad and twelve 
deep. Within the structure there are barracks sufficient to contain 
2000 troops, and also warehouses filled with stores. These buildings 
are constructed of bricks and dried clay. The plan of the fortifica- 
tion is badly designed, and the place might be very easily taken; 
however, it answers the purpose for which it was intended — namely, 
to check the Khirgiz, and hurl them back again into the wilderness 
in the event of their attempting to resist a Russian advance. 

The hostelry to which we were bound was called the Inn of 
Morozofl, Morozoff being a speculative Russian who had built a 
small one-storied house and roughly finished it, trusting to make his 
profits out of the officers of the garrison and the Russian merchants 
who were continually passing through Kasala. 

On inquiring if 1 could have a room, the waiter, a man of Jewish, 
type, informed me that the town was full, and that there would be 
no room vacant for several days. However, he gave us the name of 
an individual who kept a sort of lodging-house. 

"It is very dirty," observed the waiter, " but 1 dare say you 
■don't mind that," and he k)oked contemptuously at my sheepskin 
attire. 

The man who addressed us was himself begrimed with dirt, and 
HorozofTs inn, in point of cleanliness, would have been surpassed 



78 



A EIDE TO KHIYA. 



by even a pig-sty in many of our Leicestershire farms. However^ 
there are comparisons in dirt, and the proprietor of the lodging-house 
•where I now betook myself was even more unwashed than the waiter 
above mentioned. 9 

" Rooms?" said he; " no: we are here five and six in a room, and. 
our passages are full too." 

" Do you know of any other lodging-house?" 1 inquired. 

" Lodging-house? no. Go with God, brother;" and with these 
words he slammed the door in my face, leaving Nazar and myself 
looking pensively at each other outside. 

"He is the son of an animal!" exclaimed my faithful follower;. 
" but it is cold here. One of noble birth, what shall we do?" 

An idea struck me. " Drive to the Jews* quarters," I said to the 
sleigh-man, thinking that perhaps among the tribes of Israel I might 
find quarters for the night. 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were now visited, but in vain, and the 
Mohammedan inhabitants were equally impervious to an offer. The 
fact was, that a feast peculiar to the followers of the Prophet hap- 
pened to fall on the same date as the- Russian Christmas. People 
had come from every part of Asia to meet their friends and relatives. 
Unusual rejoicing was going on ; the Russian making his heart gay 
with vodki, while the follower of Islam, after stuffing himself with, 
pilloffs of rice and mutton, was seeking in the fumes of opium 
relief from the cares of this world, and a foretaste of the one to 
come, a Mohammedan's Paradise consisting of an unlimited seraglia 
which costs nothing to keep, and where the female inhabitants re- 
quire no guardians, do not quarrel or pull his beard, and are always 
young. 

As it was impossible to find any lodgings in Kasala, 1 resolved to- 
drive to the fort and see if the commandant could do anything for 
us. This officer received me very courteously, and at once sent his 
servant to search everywhere in the town for rooms ; In the mean- 
time he offered me an apartment in his own house. A large brass 
basin was brought in, and 1 now enjoyed the luxury of soap and. 
water, which was well appreciated after a continuous journey for. 
twelve days. 

Foreigners cannot understand an Englishman's love of water, and 
look upon us as dirty tor requiring so much washing, Russians 
consider a vapor-bath once a week an embarras de ncJiesse In so far 
as cleanliness is concerned, while the mere idea of any one having a 
cold bath .every morning is beyond their comprehension, and another 
proof of the eccentricity appertaining to an insular character. 

The room in which I found myself was furnished in the simplest 
manner, a bedstead and a few wooden chairs being all the furniture- 
however, it was clean, and free from insect life. Presently the 
servant sent out by the commandant in search of lodgings returned. 
He had been everywhere in Kasala, and there was not a room, or 
even the share of a room, to be had. 1 now learned that privacy h. 
not considered at all essential in the steppes, where three or four 
officers will often share the same apartment. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA, 



79 



CHAPTER XV11L 

The commandant pressed me to remain beneath his roof, at least 
lantil such time as I could nod sleeping quarters. Shortly afterward 
he introduced me to his wife and family. 1 must say 1 was much 
struck by the kindness and hospitality ot this gentleman. He had 
never seen me before, had no security beyond my word as to wbo I 
was, and yet he instantly placed his house at my disposal. The 
courteousness and hospitality of this kind old commandant will al- 
ways remain in my memory as one of the pleasantest episodes in my 
journey to Khiva. His wife now informed me that an English engineer 
officer had resided beneath their roof the previous Summer, and had 
subsequently accompanied a Russian scientific expedition as far as 
Petro- Alexandra vsk, the object of his journey being to survey the 
Oxus. The members ot the expedition had, at the time my com- 
patriot was with it, navigated the stream to the fort, but since his 
departure some Russian officers had ascended the river seventy versts 
beyond that part; indeed, the commandant informed me that when, 
si steamer then being built was finished, which would draw but little 
water and steam twenty versts per hour, it would be able to ascend 
the stream for a much greater distance, and perhaps to the source 
of the river. The chief obstacle hitherto experienced had been the 
rapidity of the current, and as the engines on the vessels in commis- 
sion were of little horse- power, it had been difficult to make head- 
way against the stream. 

Permission had been given to a merchant to build a fleet of fishing 
vessels for the Sea ot Aral, which is said to abound with the finny 
tribe. This would doubtless be a great convenience, as in case of 
necessity these barges could be used to transport troops up the Oxus, 

The distance from the Sea of Aral to European Russia is consider- 
able. The supply of fish supplied to the Black and Caspian seas is 
•very plentiful. It is to be feared that the enterprising individual 
who is about to construct this fleet of fishing barges will find his 
speculation anything but a 1 ucrative one, although from a military 
point of view it will be extremely useful. 

My hostess poured out some tea, and, handing me a cigarette, 
lighted one tor herself. This is not at all an exceptional proceeding 
in Russia, where the women smoke as much as the men. In the 
best society at St. Petersburg, it is not at all an uncommon spectacle 
to see the married women and aged chaperons indulging in 
cigarettes. Fortunately, the girls have not as yet taken to the habit. 
The disturbances in Kokan, by all accounts, had been much exag- 
gerated, and the Russian troops had not at any time been in danger. 
An officer who had passed through Kasala, on his road from Kash- 
kent to St. Petersburg, had said that his comrades and self were muck 
surprised to find that they were such great heroes. This was all owing 
to the " Invalide " newspaper, for the Russian military journal had 
bespattered the officers under Kauffmann with adulation; but that ifc 
was well this organ had done so, as there would now be plenty o£ 
medals and decorations. If the paper would only continue its abuse 



so 



A KIDE TO KHIVA. 



of "Yakoob Bek, it would very likely bring about a campaign in the- 
summer against Kashgar, and that tliis was the wish of" General 
Kauffmann, the Governor-general of Toorkistan. 

1 now proceeded to Morozoff 's hostelry to see what could be ob- 
tained tor dinner, as 1 felt excessively hungry, the keen air of the 
Steppes having produced a most healthy appetite. On asking the 
same domestic who had greeted me in the morning what there was 
to eat, 

*' Anything you ask for," was the immediate reply. 

This, when submitted to investigation, proved to be slightly in- 
correct, for some cabbage soup and cold mutton were the sole con- ' 
tents of the larder. 

"We have magnificent wine," observed the servaut, producing 
a bottle of port as black as ink, and which appeared to be a concoc- 
tion of Kussian spirits, thickened with soot. " Delicious! taste it; 
our wine is famous all over the country." 

The room in which 1 found myself was of an oblong shape, and 
Without any furniture save a table and bench. A few sheepskins 
in a corner showed that the apartment was already taken; and in 
reply to my inquiry 1 was informed that three merchants had slept 
there, but that, they not being at home, the waiter Had taken pos- 
session of their room. 

According to him, it was a delightful Christmas. More vodki 
had been drunk the previous evening than had ever been known in 
the annals of Fort Number One. Universal drunkenness still pre- 
vailed, and the inhabitants in consequence were thoroughly enjoy- 
ing tliemselveSc 

1 ordered a sleigh, but had some difficulty in obtaining one, as 
there were only five of these vehicles in Kasala. 1 then drove to the 
house of Colonel Goloff, the district Governor. He was not at 
home, but engaged, in paying visits to the families of the principal 
officials in the garrison, as it is the custom in Russia to call on your 
friends during the Christmas week and offer them the congratula- 
tions of the season. His servant, however, told me that the Gov- 
ernor would soon return, so I resolved to await his arrival. 

The house was a substantial and well-built edifice, but only one | 
story high, like almost every other building in Kasala. The two | 
sentinels outside the building, and whom 1 could distinguish through i 
the thick double-glass windows, every now and then took a short 
run backward and forward in front of their sentry-boxes, so as to 
keep up the circulation in their feet, the cold being very great. 

A small entrance hall afforded every convenience to the visitor tor 
hanging up his fur pelisse and depositing his galoches, while four 
large and lofty rooms opening one into the other formed the dwell- 
ing apartments of the family. There were fine parquet floors in 
each of the rooms alluded to, while some full-length mirrors, with 
a few chairs and tables, constituted the entire furniture. Large 
stoves set in the walls were arranged soastoimpait a genial warmth 
throughout the building; while three or four back rooms, used as 
offices" and kitchen, looked out upon a small garden and stable, 
which were behind the colonel's residence. 

. Presently the rattle of a sleigh which stopped before the porticos 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



81 



announced to me that the Governor had returned, and a minute later 
he entered the room. 

He was a tall but somewhat corpulent man, evidently on the 
wrong side of fifty, and clad in a dark -blue uniform. 1 introduced 
myself to him, and apologized for the liberty 1 had taken in calling. 

He said that he had heard from the authorities at St. Petersburg 
that 1 was on my way, at the same time observing that he could not 
allow me to remain under the commandant's roof. " His house is. 
small," remarked the Governor; " besides that, fie has a wife and 
children; here J. am all alone, my family has gone to Russia. You 
must come and stay with me." 

" Nay, you must," he added, somewhat sharply, as 1 hesitated 
to intrude myself on his hospitality; so, thanking him for the invi- 
tation, 1 drove back to the commandant's quarters. It was with 
difficulty that 1 could persuade him to let me depart, and then it 
was only by saying that the Governor had expressed his wish, or 
rather orders, on this subject in such a peremptory manner that it 
_ was impossible for me to refuse. 

Of all the hospitable people whose acquaintance it has been my 
good fortune to make during my many travels, there is no one who 
„ can compare to this kind-hearted commandant. To have his house 
invaded by an Englishman, and instantly to offer him a lodging, 
although he had no idea who the stranger might be, except that he 
was very dirty and clad in sheepskins, would have been a high trial 
* to the most philanthropic of individuals; but it was done by this 
good-natured officer. There are two ways of showing a kindness, 
and this act of. hospitality had been performed with great tact, the 
- commandant striving to persuade me that a favor would have been, 
conferred on him by my remaining beneath his roof. 

On returning to the Governor's, 1 found the reception-room filled 
with officers who had come to offer him the usual Christmas con- 
gratulations. He then told me that there would be an assembly at 
~ his house later on in the evening, when I should have an opportu- 
nity of seeing all the beauty and fashion of Kasala. 

The apartments were thrown open and fairly lighted. Shortly 
afterward the ladies began to arrive, all of them being in high dress, 
and little coteries were speedily formed. Some settled down to play 
whist, regardless of the buzz of conversation around them; others 
promenaded about the rooms with the lady of their choice — men and 
women all with cigarettes in their mouths, and filling the apartments 
with clouds of smoke. There was no stiffness anywhere, and every- 
thing was done to make a stranger feel thoroughly at home. Gen- 
eral Kauff mann had passed through Kasala a few clays previous, and 
had left a very pleasant impression upon the fairer part of the com- 
munity, with whom the aged general was decidedly a favorite, and 
many remarks were made as to why he had gone to" St. Petersburg. 

One of the officers spoke Portuguese, having been some time at" 
Madeira, and he was delighted to have an opportunity of airing his 
knowledge of that language. He had been attached to a Russian 
squadron which had sailed to America a few years ago, and he was 
now doing duty on board a vessel belong to the Aral fleet. He in- 
formed me that his ship drew but little water, not more than from 
three to lour feet, and that she could steam from Petro- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



Alexandrovsk to Tashkent; the great difficulty, however, was the 
scarcity of fuel, for they had to burn wood instead of coal. It was 
very difficult to carry a sufficient supply of this article, which was 
very bulky, for a long journey, while the expense to the Govern- 
ment was enormous. 

The officers in the garrison were unanimous in envying Ihe luck 
of their more fortunate comiades in Kokan, who had been engaged 
during the recent disturbances, and they bitterly complained of the 
slowness of promotion and the dreary existence at Kasala. 

" Anything for a change,'' remarked one of them, a dashing little 
fellow with several medals; " we are bored to death here." 

*' Yes," added another, " when we fight you fellows in India, then 
we shall have some promotion. As to" fighting witn the Kokandi- 
tms, we might as well shoot pheasants; none ot our seniors get 
killed." 

" I don't think England will interfere with us about Kashgai," 
remarked an offcer, apparently much older than his comrades. 

*' Who knows, and who cares?" said another. " If we do fight) 
we will shoot at each other in the morning, and liquor up together 
when there is a truce. Come along find have a drink;" and with 
these words he led me into an adjoining room, where some servants 
liad just brought in what the Russians call zakuski — caviare, salt- 
fish, little bits of bread-and-cheese, slices of highly flavored sausage, 
and spirits of every kind. 

I was surprised to find that so few of the party could speak French ; 
in fact, there was hardly a lady present who could converse in this 
language; indeed, they did not blush when acknowledging their 
ignorance. It was quite a pleasure to meet with some people, tvho 
were not ashamed of their own language. There is a general opinion 
in England that Russians are good "linguists, because their own 
tongue is so difficult that all others become easy to them afterward. 
This is an entire fallacy. The true reason why some Russians speak 
two or three foreign languages well, and with a perfect pronuncia- 
tion, is the attention that is paid to the subject, the more particularly 
in Moscow and the capital. There the child has an English or 
French nurse as soon as he is able to speak, and he learns the 
foreign languages at the expense of his own, for the pronunciation 
first acquired is the one to which we generally adhere. By the time 
he is ten or eleven years old, he often speaks French, German, and 
English, wiii.'e these languages are grammatically studied as he gets 
older. 

Now, in England we fall into the opposite extreme: we usually 
neglect the modern languages, and even omit the study of our natural 
tongue. We occupy the whole of our boys' scholastic and college 
■career with the study of Latin and Greek, imagining that we are 
laying a good foundation for the lad to learn modern languages later 
on in life, and w r hen he leaves college. But this is then a hopeless 
task: after twenty, it is very exceptional to find any one who can 
tutor himself to a new pronunciation. Men, when leaving school 
or college, have generally but little time tor further education, and 
the result is that we are, as a nation, the worst linguists in the world. 
As it is, oui public schools are kept up for the advantage of the mas- 
ters, who, having been trained themselves in a special branch of 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



S3 



study, would be ruined if any other system of education were in- 
sisted upon by the parents. The result is that the boys' education 
suffers. If, at our public schools, Latin and Greek were made to 
change places in relative importance with French and German, many 
lads, on entering life, would find that they had built a two-storied 
house, instead of having merely laid the foundation of an edifice 
which they will never have time to complete. 

The evening wore on. Thicker and thicker grew the clouds of 
tobacco smoke which escaped from the lips of the smokers. Some 
servants now brought in two magnificent sturgeons, which were 
placed on the supper-table. The host walked up to his different 
guests and invited them to partake. Tobacco did not affect the ap- 
petites of the party, and a bite and then a whiff would often be in- 
dulged in by some of the guests. Wines of all kinds were placed 
on the table, and the clinking of champagne- glasses, as the guests 
pledged their host, mingled frequently with the conversation. 

" So you are going to-Kashgar?" said a young officer, who had 
been so kind as to point out to me the different celebrities of the 
evening. 

"No." 

" Why do you not go there?" he continued. " You would meet a 
quantity of English officers who are teaching Yakoob Bek's men to 
fight." 

" Do not talk politics," said another, his senior. " Of course we 
shall have to fight Eugland some day; but the English, although 
they fought against us in the Crimea, were much better fellows than 
the French." 

Trays were' now brought in with dishes containing small beef- 
steaks and fried potatoes, which were replaced at intervals of about 
half an hour by fresh courses; but it was getting very late, and with 
difficulty I could keep my eyes open. It was ten days since 1 had 
taken off my clothes to sleep, and a sleigh journey over the steppes 
takes a little out of any man's constitution.' 

Fortunately my host observed my inability to keep awake, and 
volunteered to show- me my sleeping apartment. 

" You have brought your bed- linen?" he remarked. " But of 
course you have. You are too old a soldier not to have done so;" 
and with these words he shut a door which separated me from the 
rest of the company. 

_ 1 had fortunately, in anticipation of some such event, brought an 
air mattress from England. It did not weigh above two or three 
pounds, was easily inflated, and very portable. This, being blown 
up and placed on the floor, made a capital couch; while, as I had 
no sheets or blankets with me, 1 did what the Russians do under 
similar circumstances, and lay down with my pelisse as a blanket. 
The door of the apartment was thin. The partition- wall which 
separated my room from those occupied by the guests offered little 
impediment to the sound; but ringing laughter and jingling of 
glasses do not keep a man from sleeping it he is once really exhaust- 
ed, and 1 speedily became lost to consciousness. 



84 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The following morning, at ten, Nazar, coming into my room, in- 
formed me that Colonel Goloff was dressing, and that breakfast 
would soon be ready. 

On asking for a basin, 1 was informed that it was not the custom 
to wash in the sleeping-apartment, but that a regular room was set 
aside for this purpose. 1 was then taken into a sort of scullery, 
with a sink and large copper utensil. In the last- mentioned article 
was a supply of water. This, on pulling a string attached to a plug 
in the vessel, streamed out from an aperture in the side. 

It was a primitive sort of arrangement, as 1 could only wash one 
hand at a time, and very cold, as there was no stove, while the icicies 
hung about the window-frames. Under these circumstances the 
morning ablutions became a tedious process, and rather a pain than 
■a pleasure. 

The colonel now entered my room, and invited me to breakfast. 
The repast was of a frugal nature: it merely consisted of tea and dry 
bread, more substantial food being considered quite out of place at 
such an hour of the day, the habit the Russians have of eating sup- 
per in the early hours of the morning not being conducive to appe- 
tite. 

My host then informed me that he had himself been five times to 
Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

The Toorkomans, he said, gave a great deal of trouble, as they 
crossed the Ox us when the river was frozen, and made frequent 
raids upon the Kirghiz, carrying off their sheep and cattle. Indeed, 
on this account he thought that it would be better for me to have an 
escort of Cossacks; " for then," he added, " it can accompany you 
to our fort, and Colonel Ivanoff, the chief of the Amu Darya dis- 
trict, will send you onto Khiva, which is about sixty miles from 
Petro-Alexandrovsk, with a fresh escort." 

On asking what would happen to me if 1 were to visit the Khan's 
capital alone and unprotected, 

" That would never do!" he said. " Why, the Khan would very 
likely order his executioner to gouge out your eyes, or would keep 
you in a hole in the ground for five or six davs before he admitted 
you to an audience. The Khivans are very dangerous people." 

I thanked him very heartily f oi the information, which, i dare 
say, was given in a friendly spirit. It was refreshing to find that 
the good Governor of Kasala valued my life so highly, and 1 shall 
always feel deeply indebted to him for his kindness. 

He now promised to get me a guide; and, ringing a bell, desired 
the servant to send for a Kirghiz officer. The latter would be able 
to communicate with his countrymen, and tell them that I wanted 
to buy some horses, for the journey would have to be accomplished 
on horseback, and it was impossible to hire any animals in Kasala. 

Camels would also be required, and a kibitka, or circular tent. 
As for provisions, the colonel recommended me to take some stchi — 
cabbage-soup, with meat cut up in it. This, he declared, was very 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



85 



portable, as it would become frozen and keep for any amount of 
time, while it might easily be carried in iron stable-buckets. The 
principal difficulty for a traveler, in his opinion, was forager asuffi- 
-cient supply of it must be taken for a fourteen days' journey, twelve 
pounds of barley per diem being the ordinary allowance for a horse. 
This would add enormously to the weight of baggage, as for three 
horses we should require thirty- six pounds of barley a day, or 504 
pounds for the march. According to the colonel, 1 need not burden 
the caravan by taking a supply of water, as in all probability there 
would be snow on the ground the whole way. However, 1 had bet- 
ter purchase some sacks, so that in the event of it appearing likely 
that any part of the route before us were thinly covered, we could 
put some in our sacks, and thus carry it on the camels. 

The cold would be my greatest enemy, as the Winter we were 
then experiencing was the most severe he hadevet' known at Kasala, 
and several people had been recently frozen to death. When we 
bad finished our breakfast, the Governor left me till dinner, which 
lie said would be on the table about 2 p.m., and departed to go 
through his routine of duties, when 1 determined to walk through 
the town,, and look at the Kirghiz population. 

I took Nazar with me to act as interpreter, in the event of my 
wishing to converse with any of the inhabitants who could not speak 
Russian. The little man was full of admiration at the splendor and 
luxury in the Governor's residence, and described to me in glowing- 
terms the magnificent banquet he had partaken of the previous even- 
ing—his only fear being lest in some disguised form or other he 
had eaten of the unclean animal, for this is a sore point with the 
Tartars, as, indeed, with all other Mohammedan nations. The 
bazaar, he said, would not be open, on account of its being a feast- 
day; and he had been to the Treasury to change some money, and 
found that this establishment was also closed. Presently some 
Kirghiz men and women rode by, the latter sitting astride their 
horses, and managing their palfreys with the most consummate ease 
and grace. 

W e now met some Bokharans and Khivans, the marked Jewish 
type and swarthy faces of the former contrasting strongly with the 
Khivans, who were several shades lighter in complexion. Every 
one, man or woman, was enveloped in some kind of fur or other, 
and not a particle of their skin was left uncovered, save just above 
the eyes. 

A few Cossacks from the Ural, who w r eie exiled from their far-off 
home, walked in little knots before their dwelling-houses, some dis- 
cussing the chance of a pardon and a return to their families at 
TJralsk, others the hardship of a journey to Khivan territory, whither 
it was rumored they were shortly to be sent. Many of these men 
appeared to be considerably past their prime, and the journey to 
Kasaia must have been a very trying one for them. Their one idea 
was that the Emperor himself had not wished their offense to be 
punished in so stern a manner; and that the order for their banish- 
ment had been obtained through some source, which, unfavorable 
to the dissenters, had exaggerated the facts of the case to the Tzar. 

The town of Kasala was kept in a very dirty state, and aid not 
reflect credit on those authorities whose duty it was to see after such 



86 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



matters. Filth and ordure were strewed about the thoroughfare; 
and it it had not beeu for the extreme frost, which kept everything 
congealed, the effect upon the atmosphere would have been anything 
but pleasant. Indeed, it is a wonder that more sickness does not 
ensue, the more particularly in the early Spring. In houses where 
there is a certain preteDsion to wealth and comfort the refuse is 
never removed, and the retiring 100ms are left in a state which must 
be seen to be believed: indeed,^any attempt at description would in- 
evitably disgust the reader. The result is that when the cold takes 
its departure and a thaw sets in, the houses become a hot-bed of 
fever, while the death rate among the population is often doubled. 

Ou the outskirts of the town some Kirghiz had pitched their kibit- 
kas. These tents are the homes of the nomad tribes, and are carried! 
by them on camels from place to place. One of these abodes was- 
adorned inside with thick carpets of various hues, and bright-col- 
ored cushions, on which the inmates reposed. A small fire in the 
center of the apartment gave out a thick white smoke, which 
wreathed itself round in serpent-like coils, till, gradually reaching- 
the roof, it escaped through an aperture left for that purpose. Very 
pungent and trying to the eyes was this dense atmosphere— a wood, 
or rather sort of bramble, called saksaool, which is found in large 
quantities on the steppes, being used for iuel. The women in the 
tent appeared to have no fear of strangers, and did not cover up their 
faces, as is the custom among other Mohammedan races; they were 
evidently delighted at our visit, and, putting down fresh rugs on 
the ground, invited me to sit by their side. As a rule, there could 
not much be said ot the beauty of their appearance; indeed, mak- 
ing every allowance for Mr. MacGahan's advocacy of the fair sex in 
Tartary, L can not help thinking that the energetic correspondent is 
either extremely susceptible or else very easily pleased, as a moon- 
faced, red-cheeked girl, the acme of perfection from a Kirghiz point 
of view, does not quite answer to my ideas of a beauty. Most of 
the women have good eyes and teeth, but the breadth of the face and 
the size of the mouth take off from these advantages- while the girls 
are not at all graceful,, although on horseback they appear to perfec- 
tion. 

An elderly man, clad in a long brown dressing-gown, thickly 
wadded io keep out the cold, was the proprietor of the kibitka. 
Pouring some water into a huge caldron, which was suspended from 
a tripod over the fire, he proceeded to make the tea, while a young- 
girl handed round some raisins and dried currants. The inmates 
were surprised when 1 told them that 1 was not a Russian, but had 
come from a land far awa} T toward the seti ing sun. 

" Anglitchanin " (Englishman), said Nazar; and the party grave- 
ly repeated the word Anglitchanin. One of the men now inquired 
if I had brought my wife with me, and he was astonished on hear- 
ing that 1 was unprovided with a helpmate, the whole party being 
of the opinion that such an appendage was as necessary to a man's 
happiness as his horse or camel. 

The Kirghiz have one great advantage over the other Moham- 
medan races— they have the opportunity of seeing the girls whom 
they wish to marry, and of conversing with them before the bargain 
is concluded with their parents, one hundred sheep being the average 



A KIDE TO KHIVA. 



87 



price given for a young woman. Among the Tartars who have fixed 
residences, and who do not migrate from place to place, this state of 
things is not allowed. Here the man who wishes to buy a wife has 
to run a considerable risk, for he seldom has an opportunity of 
judging of her looks, temper, or disposition. The girl alwavs keeps 
iier face covered when in public, and is concealed from the men as 
much as possible. The man's mother., or some other female rela- 
tive, occasionally acts as his agent, and arranges so that her client 
may be hidden behind some cupboard in their house. They then 
invite the girl to visit them, when the latter, thinking herself alone, 
Is induced to uncover her face. The suitor now makes a mental 
calculation as to how much she is worth. The bidding then com- 
mences, the young lady's parents asking at first much more than 
■they will eventually take. 

" She has sheep's eyes, and is lovely," says her mother. 

""Yes," replies the female relative, the wife-seeker's advocate, 
" she has sheep's eyes, but is not moon-faced, and has no hips 
whatever. Let us say two hundred rubles." 

And so the bidding goes on, until eventually the bargain being 
concluded, the ceremony, such as it is, takes place, very few pre- 
liminaries being considered necessary. 

* ■ Do you like Kasala?" 1 inquired of the best-looking of the girls. 

" 2s T o," replied an aged female, not giving the maid I addressed 
time to speak; " we all prefer the steppes." And with these words 
she glanced contemptuously at her daughter, who, as Nazar after- 
ward informed me, liked the slight civilization that Kasala was able 
to afford, better than the beauties of nature and the trackless wastes 
in Tartary. 

On leaving the kibitka, I proceeded to Morozoff 's hostelry to call 
upon a young Russian officer, to whom I had been introduced the 
previous evening. 1 found my acquaintance at home. He inhabited 
a small room in company with another officer, who had been wait- 
ing for six weeks to join his regiment at Petro-Alexandrovsk, and 
who, to all appearance, did not much fancy the journey, as he was 
still at Kasala when 1 returned there six weeks later. 

The room was fitted up very simply. The furniture consisted of 
two small bedsteads; some colored French prints and photographs 
were suspended from^tke walls, while a few books and two strong 
wooden chairs completed the arrangements. 

The officers were glad to see a visitor, and have an opportunity of 
talking about St. Petersburg. One of them at once produced some 
"bottles of vodki, and was much surprised to find that 1 was not ad- 
dicted to strong drinks. " You do not mean to say that the officers 
in your array do not get drunk?" he said. " Why, liquor is the 
only thing worth living for!" and he tossed off a tumbler of the 
pure spirit. The main difficulty, however, was to disabuse my 
friends' minds of the idea that I had been sent out by the English. 
Government, and that the authorities at home paid my expenses. 

" And so you might have spent all your leave of absence in St. 
Petersburg, ard yet only remained there ten days! How very 
strange!" said the elder of the two, evidently wondering how I 
could have stopped for so brief a time at this Elysium in the eyes 
of a Russian officer. 



ss 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



This gentleman had been in the Guards, but, like many of his 
comrades, had outstripped his allowance and run into debt In 
consequence of this he had been removed to an appointment at Ka- 
sala, which happened at that time to be vacant ; and niy young friend 
now found himself acting as a sort of police magistrate — rather a 
change from his former lite at St. Petersburg. Existence in the 
fort, according to liim, w r as fearfully dull — hardly any female soci- 
ety, and but little to do. Now, at Khiva there was always the 
prospect of a war with the Toorkomans, or some little excitement in 
the shape of a rebellion to suppress, and then men might have a 
chance of seeing service. 

In fact, you can not be with Russian officers in Central Asia for 
half an hour without remarking how they long for war. It is very 

' natural; and the wonder to my mind is why Russia has not ex- 
tended herself still further in Central Asia. Indeed, .if it had not been 
for the Emperor, who is, by all accounts, opposed to this rapid ex- 
tension of his dominions, the Russians would already be on our In 
dian frontier. Nothing would be so popular with the officers in 
Central Asia— or, indeed, for the matter of that, in European Russia 
also — as a war with England about India; and as the only public 

. opinion which can be said to exist in the Tzar's empire is represented 
in the military class, which in a few years will absorb all the male 

- population of the naiion, we ought to be thoroughly prepared for 
any emergency. Irxleed, should Russia be permitted to annex 

- Kashgar, Balkh, and Merve, an invasion of India would be by no 
means so difficult or impossible as some people would have us be- 
lieve. Russia, if her reserves were called out, would be able to dis- 
pose of 1,300,001) men. In the event of a campaign, the 847,847 
men in her active establishment could be reckoned upon as avail- 
able for offensive purposes. 

The province of Toorkistan is the one wdiich most closely adjoins 
our Indian empire. Here, according to Russian data, there are 
' 33,893 men. 1 use the term Russian data, because we have no 
; means of knowing whether these figures are accurate, and, at the 
present moment, the greater pari, of the forces in the "Western 
Siberian, Orenburg, and Kazan districts might be concentrated in 
the neighborhood of Tashkent and Samarcand, and no one in this , 
country would be the wiser. We have no consular agents in any } 
of the towns through which these troops would have to march on 
their road to Toorkistan. No Englishmen are allowed to travel in 
Central Asia, and. owing to the Russian newspapers being com- 
pletely in the hands of the authorities, the information which is pub- 
lished may be purposely intended to mislead. If the Governor-gen- 
eral in Toorkistan were forming large etapes, or depots, of provisions 
and arms in Samarcand, Khiva, and Krasnovodsk, we should be 
equally ignorant until, waking up one morning, we might discover 
that, instead of our having to fight an enemy 2000 miles distant from 
his base of operations, a base had been formed within 350 miles of 
our Indian frontier, which was as well supplied with all the requi 
sites of war as St. Petersburg or Moscow. 

In the Caucasus there is a standing army of 151,161 men within 
easy water communication of Ashourade. Alone: the valley of the 
Attrek to Herat there are no natural obstacles to impede an advauc- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



89 



ing force; indeed, if the Afghans, tempted by the idea of looting the 
rich cities in the plains of India, were to join an invader, he might 
give us a little trouble. 

CHAPTER XX. 

On returning to the Governor's, 1 found that gentleman awaiting 
me for dinner; and in the cotuse of conversation he said that the 
Kirghiz officer had sent round lo inform his compatriots that 1 wished 
to purchase some horses, and that several animals would be brought 
for my inspection on the following morning. 

The priest now came in: he was a man of about thirty, of an un- 
washed appearance, and with long uncombed locks reaching half 
way down his back. On the colonel's invitation he sat down 
by my side. He was a married man, and 1 now learned that 
Russian priests are allowed to marry; but if their wives die, the 
reverend gentlemen can not marry again. This is not a bad rule for 
the women, as the husbands look after all their ailments with the 
greatest care. Our conversation was chiefly about horses, when 1 
discovered that the visitor had one for sale, and that this was the 
object or his visit. The Kirghiz, he informed me, do not have their 
horses shod, except when about to travel over very rocky ground. 
In winter and in summer the active little animals traverse the des- 
erts, the hoof itself affording ample protection, and a lame or un- 
sound steed is with them a rarity, while a hundred miles in a day 
has frequently been accomplished by some of the Kirghiz horsemen. 

I had arrived at Kasala at a bad time for a man who, like myself, 
wished to push forward immediately. The following morning, on 
Inquiring if any Uorses had been brought for my inspection, 1 was 
informed that the festival was not over. The Kirgniz were still en- 
gaged in stuffing themselves with rice and mutton, and in drinking 
sour mare's milk (koomyes), and could not be induced to leave their 
Itouses, even on the chance of selling a horse to a Christian. 1 
thought that Nazar's services might, be put into requisition, so 1 de- 
sired him to go into the town and proclaim to his co-religionists 
mat 1 was prepared fo give a good price, provided that they could 
bring me some animals which would suit. Under other circum- 
stances, 1 should continue my journey along the sleigh road to Fort 
Perovsky, and buying horses at that spot, ride from there to Petro- 
Alexandrovsk; my idea being that if the Tartars at Kasala heard 
that 1 was going to leave the fort and purchase horses elsewhere, 
they would take a little more interest in the matter. 

1 also desired him to make arrangements about the preparation of 
some stchi, or cabbage-soup, for the journey, and also to order forty 
pounds of bread, of which half was to be made as light as possible. 

The Russian bakers possess the secret of making bread that is not 
much heavier than rusks would be if made of the same size as the 
loaves in question. This is a great advantage in the desert, for at 
times, when no fire- wood can be obtained, the ordinary bread be- 
comes so hard frozen that it has to be chopped with an ax; while a 
knife is utterly useless against the granite-like substance into which 
the flour is converted. Indeed, on one occasion, I broke my best 
knife when attempting to cut a loaf of frozen bread. 



90 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



My real intentions were not in favor of continuing the journey t<? 
Perovsky, it this could possibly be avoided, for by doing so we 
should be nearer the capital of Toorkistan. St. Petersburg is now in 
direct electric communication with Tashkent, while 1 believe that the 
wire has been recently extended as far as Kokan, the distance being 
about 670 miles from Kasala to Tashkent. There was also a wire 
from St. Petersburg to Orsk, which is about 500 miles from 
Kasala; -but any communication coming from St. Petersburg would 
be more likely to pass through the head- quarters of General Kaufr- 
mann than by another route. 1 was not very desirous to approach 
lashkent nearer than was absolutely necessary; as, although 1 had 
obtained permission to travel in Kussia from General Milutin, the 
Minister of War, it was not impossible that he might change his 
mind; such, in fact, having been the opinion of my" friends "at St. 
Petersburg, who had advised me to lose no time on the road. 

Xazar's message to his countrymen proved of the greatest use. My 
departure for Perovsky would have affected them in their most sus- 
ceptible, point— the pocket; and, in spite of its being feast-time, they 
proceeded to look up all the animals which could be obtained in 
Kasala. 

Xow, the Kirghiz are not like the Arabs in one respect, though 
similar to them in many others. The descendant of Ishmael will 
seldom sell his horses, no matter how much money you may offer 
for these animals ; while the Tartars will sell everything they have 
for money. The result was, the} T began to think that 'tt might be a 
good occasion to palm off some of their lame animals and" utterly 
worthless screws upon the innocent Christian; or, if 1 would not 
rail into the trap set for me by the faithful, to take advantage of my 
inexperience with reference to the average price of horses" in that 
part of the world, and sell me a good animal, but at three times its 
market value. However, the steppe coper is not unique in this re- 
spect, and he would not get much the best of a London dealer. 

Forthwith there appeared a procession before the Governor's 
house. This was composed of excited natives, looking, many of 
them, like animated bundles of rags, so thickly were they enveloped 
in shreds and tatters. Each of these animated bundles was astride- 
on some sort of quadruped — camels, horses, donkeys, all were 
brought on the scene, forming a comical picture, which will never 
be effaced from my memory. The horses were, for the most part, 
of the worst description; that is to sa} r , so tar as appearance was 
concerned. Their ribs in many instances almost protruded through 
the skin, the proprietors of the" quadrupeds uaving apparently been 
engaged in solving the knotty point as to how near they could re- 
duce them to a straw-a-day diet without their animals succumbing 
to the experiment. 

Don Quixote's steed, the far-famed Rosinante, was by all accounts 
not the best-fed of animals, and the poor brutes which can be seen 
each summer expiring beneath the horns of the bulls in the Plaza de 
Toros of Seville do not carry much flesh, but many of them would 
have been equine Daniel Lamberts if compared with the horses now 
brought for my inspection. 

If ever there was a Banting system especially devised for four- 
footed animals, that system had 'been carried out to its fullest ex- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



91 



tent, and some of the poor beasts were so weak that they could 
hardly move one leg before the other. Except for their excessive 
leanness, they looked more like huge Newfoundland dogs than as 
connected with the equine race, and had been turned out in the 
'depth of Winter with no other covering save the thick coats which 
nature had given them. 

The late Mr. Tattersall himself could not have eulogized any ani- 
mals brought to the hammer more than did these red-faced, high- 
cheek-boned, ferret-eyed Tartars their respective quadrupeds; 
while each commented on his neighbor's property in terms of scorn 
and derision. At last, after rejecting a number of jades which 
looked more fit to carry my boots than their wearer, I selected a lit- 
tle black horse. He was' about fourteen hands in height, and I 
eventually became his owner, saddle and bridle into the bargain, 
for the sum of five pounds, this being considered a very high price 
at Kasala. The saddlery was of the most gaudy description, the 
saddle being made of highly painted wood, richly decorated with 
-gilding and enamel; while a small knob about six inches long, stick- 
ing up afc the pommel, looked especially contrived for the impale- 
ment of the rider. 

The following day the Kirghiz official, who had been desired to 
procure a guide, called upon me with a candidate for that office. 

The latter was a tall, muscular-looking man, with a cunning and 
avaricious expression about the corners of his mouth whenever he 
Indulged in a smile. His head attire consisted of a tall black sheep- 
skin hat, of the sugar loaf pattern: the thick wool around the lower 
part of it was so arranged as to protect his eyes against the glare of 
the snow. His neck'was encircled by a dirty goat's-hair shawl, 
which had been once white, but was now almost of the same hue as 
his coarse black beard and mustache. A bright yellow dressing 
sown, thickly wadded to protect the wearer from cold, was girt 
around his waist by a green sash. Yellow leather trousers were 
drawo over his lathy legs, while an enormous pair of boots, the toes 
of which were turned up and culminated in formidable-looking 
points— fearful weapons to deliver a kick with — protected his ex- 
tremities. For arms he carried a short cimeter, which was buckled 
around his wast by a narrow leather strap. However, the sword 
was not of much use, as it had been little cared for and was very 
rusty, while the steel of which the cimeter was manufactured was 
of an utterly worthless character. 

He announced himself as ready to guide me to Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk, the Russian fort: and his companion, the Kirghiz official, 
said that the man had acted as guide to the troops which marched 
upon Khiva during tiie expedition against that country, and that he 
could be thoroughly depended upon. 

An agreement was soon made by which he was to provide me 
with some camels. He would also bring his own horse, while, if 1 
could not find at Kasala an animal worth, buying for "Nazar, the little 
.man should be mounted upon a camel. The price the guide first 
demanded for his services was very exorbitant, being three times 
more than the ordinary tax iff; however, after a little bargaining, he 
became more moderate in his demands. When everything had been 



92 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



arranged, he proceeded then in search of some camels, and 1 deter- 
mined to start in thirty-six hours. 

In the meantime Hazar had tied rny recently acquired purchase to 
a cart which stood in the Governor's orchard, and had gone in search 
ot a shoeing smith. 1 did not know what sort of ground would have 
to he traversed, once we were on the other side of Khiva; and if is 
were of a rocky nature, horse-shoes would he indispensable. Nose- 
bags and horse-rugs had also to be purchased— two rugs to be put 
under the saddle, while the third was to be strapped above it, and 
thus to interpose between the seat of the rider and the wooden frame- 
work of the saddle; this being the system adopted in the steppes, 
and with great success, as the horses hardly ever have sore backs. 

The following day I called upon the commandant to say good-bye, 
and thank him for all his kindness. He informed me, in the course- 
of our conversation, that the Russian troops which marched against 
Khiva carried nothing but their arms and ammunition, their great- 
coats and knapsacks having been transported on camels. Occasion- 
ally, he said, the men would accomplish fifty versts (thirty-three 
miles) in a day. At times the heat was very great, and the troops- 
were then only served out with tea and biscuits, as meat was sup- 
posed to have an injurious effect upon their marching powers. The 
Kirghiz, he said, lived entirely upon milk during the hot weather, 
and only killed their sheep in the winter months, or when obliged 
by sheer necessity. The nomad tribes could not exist without their 
flocks, which form their chief source of wealth, cattle being very 
scarce among them. The Kirghiz, however, possessed plenty of 
horses, and a man's riches would not be estimated by the number of 
rubles he had, as in Russia, but by the quantiy ot horses and sheep 
in his possession. 

" 1 am afraid you will have a terribly cold journey," said the old 
officer, as he shook hands with me and said farewell. " The ther- 
mometer was down to 32 degrees below zero, Reaumur, yesterday 
(40 degrees Fahrenheit), and indoors it was bad enough. We piled 
as much wood in the stove as it would hold, and sat in our furs all 
day long, but in spite of this tne cold made itself felt." 

The winter we were then experiencing was an exceptional one 
even for that part of the world; and when 1 returned to the Gov- 
ernor's house I found the Kirghiz, who were engaged in putting up 
a kibitka in the garden for me to look at, grumbling as much as the 
Russians at the cruelty of the elements. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The water route to Petro-Alexandrovsk was closed to me by the 
frost, but it affords easy communication in summer with the Khivaii 
khanate, Indeed, should the Russian Government ever permit 
Englishmen to travel in their Asiatic dominions, Khiva will proba- 
bly become known to Mr. Cook, and on the list of his personally 
conducted tours. However, besides the water route by the Jaxartes. 
Sea ot Aral, and Oxus, there are several land routes, used respec- 
tively in summer and winter. 

One way of reaching Petro-Alexandrovsk is the track taken by 



A SIDE TO KHIYA. 



9a 



tlie column which marched from Kasala on Khiva during the war. 
This route, striking slightly to the southeast, brings the traveler to 
the Irkibai lord, and then, diverging to the southwest, continues to 
Kiptchak. From there the traveler can proceed along the banks of 
the Amu Darya River to within a short distance of the fort. This is 
a very circuitous route, the great advantage it possesses being a 
sufficient supply of wells on the road to make it a practicable one 
during the summer months, the climate of the Kirghiz steppes being 
lust as remarkable by its intense heat during June, July, and Au- 
gust, as by its extreme cold throughout the winter. Wyld's map of 
Khiva and the surrounding territories shows this line of march, 
which occupies about twenty-five days, very correctly. 

Then there is another road, which is known as the winter-march 
road. This is by far the shortest way from Kasala to Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk, the Russian fort in Khivan territory. This road leads al- 
most due south past Utch Utkul to Kenderli, 177 miles from Fort 
Number One; then, diverging slightly to the east for about sixty 
miles, it turns south to Karabatoor, 303 miles distant from the start- 
ing-point. Finally, after passing Tady-Kazgan, Kooktche, and Kiite 
ALoonar, it leads straight to Petro-Alexanclrbvsk, which is 360 miles 
from Kasala. 

This road, however, is impracticable in summer, as there are 
scarcely any wells along it, and those which exist generally contain 
water so salt and brackish as to be fit for camels alone, while human 
beings and horses can drink it only when reduced to extreme neces- 
sity. Along this route Ihere are wells at Balaktay, forty miles from 
Kasala; at Berd Kazgan, forty-two miles further on, there is more 
water; the traveler then must journey the ninety-five miles to Ken- 
derli, where there are some very brackish wells; and from thence it 
is 123 miles to Karabatoor, where first you find water fit for human 
consumption. After this there is a plentiful supply of water till you 
reach Pelro-Alexandrovsk. 

1 enter thus minutely into details about this route, as it is not 
marked down in auy English map that 1 have seen, and in the one 
in my possessioa it is not shown accurately, Karabatoor being repre- 
sented as close to the Oxus whereas in reality it is fifty-three miles 
from that river. 1 am not aware that the above-mentioned road has 
been traveled by any Englishman save myself; indeed, it is seldom 
used except by the Tartars or Cossacks on their way to and from 
Khiva, and when the snow, which covers the ground for ten weeks 
in the year, supplying the place of water, renders the journey pos- 
sible. 

It is a very arduous march, however, and one which requires a, 
great many preparations beforehand, as everything has to be taken 
by the traveler in the shape of provisions for himself, barley for his 
horses, and occasionally fuel to burn in those places where saksaool, 
the fire-wood of the steppes, is not to be found. He must also not 
forget bags to carry snow, should it appear likely that for any long 
distance there will be a deficiency of this substitute for water. The 
result was, 1 found lhat for myself, whose only personal luggage 
consisted of a change of clothes, a few instruments, and my gun, 
and for my Tartar servant, I could not do with less than three cam- 
els and two horses. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



It will be easy, from these few details, to imagine the prepara- 
tions which General PerOvsky had to make in the" year 1839, when 
lie attempted to take Khiva in the winter, and why he failed. In- 
tense frost, heavy snow storms, and want of provisions compelled 
bim to retire when only half way from Orenburg, having lost two- 
thirds of his men, nine thousand camels, and an immense quantity 
of horses, from illness, cold, and hunger— the expense of the expe- 
dition amounting to six and a half millions of rubles. The sum for 
those days appears a large one, but it is not so if we consider that 
the invading column consisted of: three and a half battalions of in= 
lantry, two regiments of Ural, and four sotnias, or seven hundred 
and fifty Orenburg Cossacks, besides twenty-two guns and a rocket- 
battery — in all, four thousand five hundred men, accompanied by 
a large intendance, and, in addition to horse transport, ten thousand 
camels, with two thousand Kirghiz drivers. 

It may be thought that the Khivan enemy assisted in the destruc- 
tion of the Russian expedition. But this was not the case; the greater 
part of Perovsky's forces never saw the toe, and there were only 
slight engagements with advanced parties, in each of which the 
Khan's troops were put to flight. 

The cold on New Year's daj\ 1876, Russian style, or the 12th of 
January according to our calendar, was the greatest I ever remem- 
Tber to have experienced. The sentries posted outside the Governor's 
and commandant's houses were obliged to wear the thickest of ga- 
loches stuffed with hay, and to keep running backward and forward 
the whole time they were on duty, to keep their feet from freezing. 
The instant any man left the house his mustache was frozen into a 
solid block of ice; and if his nose were exposed to the wind f a 
minute or so, it turned first blue and then white; w T hile, as to touch- 
ing anything in the shape of metal with the bare hand, you might 
as well have taken hold of red-hot iron. 
. Everything was ready for a stait. Three camels and a Toorko- 
man driver were at the door laden with the kihitka, forage, etc. 
The Governor had given liis last instructions to the Kirghiz guide, 
and duly impressed'upon nis mind that he was to be surelo take me 
straight to the fort. I had declined the ofier of an escort. Indeed, 
it would have been hard upon the poor Cossacks, giving them a 
long, useless journey over the steppes, merely on account of the 
Toorkomans: and it was as well 1 did so; as, out of a party of ten 
soldiers at that time marching from Petto- Alexandrovsk, I was 
subsequently informed that two had been frozen to death and several 
others frost-birten, the uniform of a Cossack not being nearly so 
proof against the onslaught of Ihe elements as the thick furs, sheep- 
skins, etc., which can be worn by a private individual. 

My guide rode his own horse — one, if possible, a little thinner 
than mine — while the littie Tartar servant, who was seated on a 
huge corn-sack, balanced on the other side by a bundle of fire-woou 
and perched upon the tallest ot the camels, smiled lugubriously as 
he bid farewell to his numerous acquaintances, and turning to me, 
said : 

" Vlease God we shall not be frozen!" 
To wliich 1 devoutly replied: 
' " Inshallah." 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



95 



In spite of some drawbacks to the road selected— such as our be- 
ing obliged to use melted snow instead ot water, and to carry more 
tire-wood than would be required along the other track— tor me it 
possessed several advantages. 

First ot all, 1 could get to Petro-Alexandrovsk in half the time em- 
ployed if 1 took the Irkibai route; and, secondly, 1 should see a new 
track, or at least one which was not marked on Mr. Wyld's map of 
Khiva; while, however much 1 might wish to visit Khiva in the 
summer, and sail across the Sea of Aral, circumstances over which. 
1 had no control would prevent my carrying this into execution. 

For provisions 1 had supplied myself with stchi, or cabbage-soup, 
with large pieces of meat cut up in it. This poured into two large 
iron stable-buckets, had become hard frozen, and was thus easily 
carried slung on the back of a. camel. Twenty pounds' weight of 
cooked meat was also taken, and a hatchet to chop up our frozen 
food, or to cut down brush-wood for a fire; while a cooking-lamp,, 
with a supply of spirit to be used under the mess tins, in the event 
of our fuel running short, made up the baggage. 

Although 1 had hired the camels as far as Petro-Alexandrovsk, 1 
had not the slightest intention of going there if it could be avoided. 1 
had the permission ot General MiTutin, the Hussiau Minister of War, 
to travel in Russian Asia, and considered myself at liberty to change 
my direction at pleasure without consulting any officers subordinate 
to him in the Russian service. 

However, the rumors which had reached my ears about Major 
Wood's journey made me rather doubtful as to whether General Mi- 
lutin miglit not'change his miud, and 1 had a very strong presentiment 
that I should never see Khiva if, like my compatriot, 1 once were to 
find myself in Fort Petro-Alexandrovsk. Indeed, as 1 subsequently 
learned from Major Wood's lips, he had never been permitted to gb. 
within sixty versts of the Khan's capital: and when he expressed a 
wish to Colonel Ivanoff, the commandant of the garrison, to be al- 
lowed to see Khiva, that officer informed him that there was a strict, 
order from General Kauri mann on this subject, and no Such per- 
mission could be granted. 

Since Major Wood's departure, the River Oxus has been surveyed 
for a considerable distance beyond the fort; and it is to be hoped 
that when a more extended survey takes place the military authorities 
at St. Petersburg will ask Major ood to participate in it. It is as 
important to Englishmen as to Russians to know how far the mighty 
stream is navigable. Another reason also induced me to ride to 
Khiva without going to Petro-Alexandrovsk; for in the event of 
the Russian commandant permitting me to enter the capital, which 
was highly improbable, 1 felt convinced that it would be with an 
escort, and then 1 should be taken about to see everything couleur 
de rose, or as the Russians would like me to see it, and not be per- 
mitted to take my time and wander, free and unrestrained, about 
the city. 1 was also curious to know whether the Khivan sovereign 
was as great a barbarian as the Russians made him out to be. 

It was only after a great deal of struggling that I managed to get 
into the saddle; for although my horse was only fourteen hands 
high, my sheepskin clothes and other thick garments were very 
heavy, and could not have weighed less than~fifty pounds. The 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



stirrup-irons also, though huge of their kind, were barely large 
■enough, as Nazar had covered them with felt, so as to prevent my 
leet freezing to the steel. 

The little animal groaned as I gained my seat. The guide here 
made a remark to Nazar, and a wolfish expression passed over his 
•countenance, which wore a hungry sort of look, and he glared at my 
horse in such a peculiar manner that it attracted my attention. 

" What does he say, Nazar?" 1 inquired. 

" He says that your horse has very little fat, but that he is tough," 
was the reply. 

" 1 hope so," 1 observed; " the pooi beast has to carry me a long 
way, and he is very much overweighted." 

" No, sir, you do not understand me," continued my domestic. 

He means that when your horse breaks down and we have to kill 
Mm, he will be very tough food." 

'.' "What! you do not intend to say that the fellow wants to eat my 
horse?" I remarked indignantly. 

"Oh yes; the brute will never get to Petro-Alexandrovsk; and 
then we will all have such a feast!" And my little Tartar's eyes 
glistened as the guide's had done, as he gloated over the anticipated 
banquet, horse-flesh beiDg considered a great delicacy by the inhabit- 
ants of those regions. 

We soon crossed the Syr Darya River, the Jaxartes of ancient 
history, which bathes the southern side of Fort Number One. A 
high-road had been made over its frozen surface, which glistened 
beneath the rays of a midday sun like a vast sheet of burnished 
steel. The steamers belonging to the Aral fleet lay imbedded in the 
ice, the black funnels and smoky appearance of the vessels contrast- 
ing strongly with the bright colors worn by the peasantry who 
strolled along the banks. 

A few exiled Cossacks from Uralsk were grouped together busily 
engaged conversing with a Tartar, who had just arrived from Oren- 
burg. They were trying to learn some tidings of the old folks at 
home; while two wild-looking Kirghiz were haggling with a knot 
of Khivans, the latter wishing to buy a sheep which the natives had 
for sale. 

A little way from the town we came upon hundreds of cotton- 
bales lying scattered along the path. No one was left in charge of 
them, and the huge bundles seemed at the disposal of any would-be 
thief. It appeared that they had been brought from Bokhara, 
The camel-drivers had gone on to Kasala to feast with their friends 
in that town, but would return when the festival was over, and then 
continue the journey to Orenburg. In the meantime their master's 
property was left in the steppe, thus affording a striking proof of the 
happy-go-lucky disposition of the Tartar camel-drivers. 

" Will not some of the cotton be stolen?" 1 inquired of Nazar. 

" If God pleases," was the pious answer. 

The Mohammedans invariably throw upon the Deity the responsi- 
bility for any mischance that may occur through their own negli- 
gence, the doctrine of fatalism thus covering a multitude of sins. 

I subsequently discovered that the only way to impart a little cir- 
cumspection to my careless camel-driver when, after smashing my 
boxes, he excused himself on the ground that the Almighty had 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



been the cause of his disaster, was to administer to the delinquent a 
slight chastisement. This having beeu inflicted, I exclaimed, 
" Brother, it was the will of. God; yon must not complain. It was 
your destiny to break my property, and mine to beat you. We 
neither of us could help it, praise be to Allah." 

This method of dealing with my party had a capital effect upon 
them, and much more care 'was afterward taken in loading and 
unloading the camels. 

Kasala now lay far in our wake, and naught could be seen save 
an endless white expanse. A gale came on. The wind howled and 
whistled, billowing before it broad waves of snow. Our eyes began 
to run, and the eyeballs to ache; the constant glare and cutting 
breeze half blinded us as we rode. The horses waded heavily through 
the piled-up ridges. The poor beasts suffered like ourselves : their 
eyes were incrusted with frozen tears; and it was as much as we 
could do to urge them forward. 

I had taken the precaution to bring some tinted spectacles from 
lingland in order to protect my eyes from this evil, which gives rise 
to many cases of ophthalmia amidst the nomad tribes, the dust and 
sun in the summer months being nearly as trying as Uie cutting 
winds and dazzling snow throughout the winter. However, my 
shades proved to be useless. The side-springs were made of steel, 
and directly they touched my cheeks 1 felt as it they had been seared 
with a red-hot poker. There was nothing to be "done but to pull 
my cap well over my eyes, and look as best 1 could through the 
dark fur. This somewhat shaded the glaring mirror at our feet, 
and relieved the aching pupils. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

After marching for about five hours, the guide asked me to halt 
the caravan. The sun was fast disappearing in the west, as we had 
started late; and as it is always as well to make a short journey on 
the first day, in order to see how the saddles fit, and if the luggage 
has been well adjusted on the camels, 1 consented, but with the ex- 
piess stipulation that we must strike our camp and start again at 
twelve that night. 

Camels will only feed in ihu day-time, and the best plan is to 
march them as much as possible during the night. They walk very 
slowly, and as a rule can not go more than tw r o miles and a third an 
hour. This is the average rate of a caravan; however, they walk a 
little faster at night than during the day, so it is always as well to 
halt at sunset and start at midnight, unloading the camels for about 
two hours in the day to feed. By this means the traveler ought to 
gets sixteen hours per day steady work from his caravan, and inarch 
at least thirty-seven miles. 

All this time the Tocrkoman driver and guide were engaged in 
putting up the kibitka. This was intended to screen us from the 
bitterly cold wind which, coming straight from the east, whistled 
across the desert, unchecked by mountain or forest. 

The kibitkas are very simple in their construction. 1 will en- 
deavor briefly to describe them. Imagine a bundle of sticks, each 
4 



98 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



five feet three inches in length and an inch in diameter; these are 
connected with each other by means of some cioss-slicks, through 
tlie ends ot which holes are bored and leather thongs passed. This 
allows plenty of room for all the sticks to open out freely: they then 
form a complete circle about twelve feet in diameter and five feet 
three in height. They do not require any forcing iuto the giound, 
for the circular shape keeps them steady. When this is done, a thick 
piece of cashmar, or cloth made of sheep's wool, is suspended from 
their top, and reaches to the ground. This forms a shield through 
which the wind can not pass. Another bundle of sticks is then 
produced. They are all fastened at one end to a small wooden cross 
about six inches long by four broad. A man, standing in the center 
of the circle, raises up this bundle in the air, the cross upward, and 
hitches their other ends, by means ot little leather loops, one by 
one on the different upright sticks which form the circular walls. 
The result is, they all pull against each other, and are consequently 
self-supporting. "Another piece of cloth is passed round the outside 
ot this scaffolding, leaving a piece uncovered at the top to allow the 
smoke to escape. One stick is removed from the uprights which 
form the walls. This substitutes a door, and the kibitka is com- 
pleted. 

A fiie is now lighted in the middle of the tent, some snow put in 
a kettle, which is suspended from a tripod of three sticks above the 
flames, and, under the influence of a few glasses of scalding tea, the 
wayfarer makes himself as comfortable as circumstances will admit. 

However, the smoke from the damp wood filled the <ent. It was 
of so pungent a character that we found it impossible to keep on the 
roof. Our eyes, which had suffered from the wind and glare, now 
smarted from the smoke, and it was impossible to keep them open. 

"The wood is damp," said the guide; "better be cold than be 
blind;" and, unhooking the upper frame- work of the kibitka, he 
left only the walls standing. 

It w r as a glorious evening; tlie stars as seen from the snow-covered 
desert were brighter and more dazzling than any 1 had hitherto wit- 
nessed. From time to time some glittering meteor would shoot 
across the heavens. A momentar} r track of vivid flame traced out 
its course through space. Showers of orbs of falling fire flashed for 
a moment, and then disappeared from our view. Myriads of con- 
stellations and worlds above sparkled like gems in a priceless dia- 
dem. It was a magnificent pyrotechnic display, Nature being the 
sole actor in the spectacle. It was well worth a journey even to Cen- 
tral Asia. 

In the meantime the guide, who took upon himself the office of 
chef de cuisine, was occupied with an iron pot, his special property. 
He was busily engaged throwing into this receptacle slices of meat, 
wdnch with difficulty he had hacked from a piece of frozen mutton. 
A few handfuls of rice were next added, and some hunches of mut- 
ton fat. This lie extracted from a hiding-place in his clothes, and 
the culinary compound was speedily crackling over the red-hot em- 
bers of our fire. 

It was not a very appetizing spectacle, nor a dish that Baron 
Brisse would have been likely to add to any of his menus; but after 
a ride across the steppes in midwinter the traveler soon loses every 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



99 



other feeling in the absorbing one of hunger, and at that time 1 think 
1 could have eaten rny great-grandfather if he had been properly 
roasted for the occasion. 

ISazar's face assumed a most voracious aspect. Seizing a large 
wooden ladle, he buried it in the cooking mass; then, first of all fill- 
ing his own mouth, with a look of supreme satisfaction he handed 
me the ladle. 

The guide, baring his aim to the elbow, plunged his hand into the 
pot, and, throwing about a quarter of a pound of its contents within 
his capacious jaws, bolted it at one swallow. His eyes nearly started 
out of his head with the effort. He smiled condescendingly, pointed 
to the viands, the result of his culinary skill; and, rubbing his stom- 
ach slowly, gave me to understand that the meat was done to a 1 urn, 

The Toorkoman sat in a corner of the kibitka. He was taking some 
little square biscuits or cakes, made of flour, salt, and fat, from a 
small bag which had been attached to the saddle of his donkey. His 
countenance wore a melancholy expression, for the biscuits were 
frozen at hard as brickbats. From time to time he would lay one of 
the cakes upon the embers, and when it was thawed through, hand 
it to one of my party. " lackskee " (good), he said to me. looking 
at the smoking mutton with a beseeching look, as much as to say, 
" Let me, too, partake;" when, notwithstanding the disapproving 
looks of Nazar and the guide, who wished to eat it all themselves, t 
desired him to squat down by their side. 

It was a quaint sight, the two wild figures before me, with their 
bare arms thrust alternately into the pot, every now and then, swear- 
ing and looking fiercely at the Toorkoman, who, to make up for lost 
time, eat much more rapidly than they did. 1 myself was supplied 
witJi a large saucertul of rice and meat, which, in spite of the rough 
manner in which it had been prepared, pioved a very savory com- 
pound. 

While thus engaged, three Khivans rode up to us. One was a 
merchant who had been to Orenburg. He had there disposed of his 
cotton-bales, and was now returning to Khiva with a supply of Rus- 
sian goods in the shape of knives, saucers, cups, and bright-colored 
chintzes, such as find a ready sale in the Khan's territory. 

He was a strong-built, siurcly fellow T , and- about five feet ten in 
height. A tall, cone-shaped, black Astrakhan hat covered his head; 
while his body was clad in an orange -colored dressing-gown, thickly 
quilted, and gin tightly around his loins with a long red sash. A 
heavy sheepskin .mantle enveloped him from head" to foot, and, 
with his coal-black beard and piercing dark eyes, he would have 
been worth a large sum to an artist as a model. 

Foi weapons, the Khivan had armed himself with a long single- 
barreled gun. This was ornamented with damasken work, and had 
a large, bell-shaped muzzle. The barrel was very thin, and 1 could 
not help thinking that the fire-arm, should it be discharged, would 
be much more dangerous to its owner than to his foe. A short, 
richly mounted saber completed his offensive arsenal. 

He was accompanied by two countrymen, his servants. They kept 
a careful eye on their master s goods, and were similarly armed. The 
party would have made the fortune of any London stage-manager, 



100 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



who might have required some brigands for a piece, could they have 

been placed on the boards as 1 saw them then attired. 

The merchant had twelve camels and lour camel-drivers with him 
besides five led horses. Me himself rode a very nice-looking g)ay, 
which 1 afterward tried to purchase, but no offer would tempt the 
owner to part with his animal. 

He could speak a little Russian, having learned that language when 
trading at Orenburg. On my offering him a glass of lea, he squatted 
down by the fire and proposed that we should continue the journey 
together, when our united caravans would run less risk if attacked 
by any band of marauding Kirghiz. He also informed me that the 
track on which we had that day been traveling led straight to Khiva, 
Out that a little further on the road, at a place known by the Kirghiz 
as Tan Sooloo, there was a branch road which would take us toPe- 
tro-^Je^androvsk. 

My guide, however, did net appear much smick with the new ar- 
rival, and here observed that we were not going to Khiva but to the 
Russian foit, and that his orders were to take me to Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk, while JNazar whispered in my ear that the Khivan and his 
followers would be dangeious companions, the more particularly as 
their party was, numerically speaking, far stronger than our own. 

It was evident that neither my seivant nor the guide much liked 
the proposed addition to our caravan, the real reason being that they 
thought the Khivan's appetite might perhaps surpass the Toorko- 
man's, and, should 1 extend my hospitality to the former as well as 
to the camel-driver, there would be little left for themselves to tat, 

My mind was soon made up about the matter. ] had learned one 
piece of important information. This was with reference to the road 
to Khiva, and 1 determined, if the merchant could only be persuad- 
ed to march as rapidly as ourselves, to join his party. 

On mentioning this to Nazar, he shooii his head, and remarked 
that we should be at least twenty days reaching Khiva, ev.en suppos- 
ing that our guide would accompany us there, as the heavily laden 
camels of the trader would never be able to keep up with our own. 
The thought then occurred to me that the amount of barley 1 hud 
brought tor the horses would onlj' last fourteen days, and, heaiing 
from the Khivan's lips that he did not expect to reach his destina- 
tion for at least three weeks. 1 gave up the idea. 

After slaying at our fireside for about half an hour, the merchant 
left, and in a short time sent a message by one of his servants, asking 
me il 1 would honor him by drinking tea with himself and followers. 

1 found the party encamped in a small ravine,. about a hundred 
yards from my own kibitka, and seated round a fire._ They had 
sheltered themselves in the same way as ourselves, and in addition 
had raised up an embankment of snow in the direction of the wind, 
so as to be better protected from its gusts. The camel-drivers had 
unloaded their animals, and were engaged in shoveling away the 
snow, as to leave a dry spot upon which the huge beasts could lie 
down. Should this not be done, and the camels rest on the snow, 
the heat of their bodies converts it into water, and the animals get 
cold in the stomach, an illness which generally proves fatal to them. 
The luggage and saddles were placed around the cleared spot so 
as to protect the camels from tlxe wind, and 1 found that my Toor> 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



101 



koman had joined the party, and that his 'three beasts were also 
within the inclosure. 

The merchant, producing a pillow and piece of carpet, made me 
sit in the place of honor, nearest the fire. Presently he handed me 
a tin slop-basin, full of what he called tea, but which was the nasti- 
est beverage it has ever been my bad luck to taste. It was not tea, 
in our sense of the word, but a mixture which had a peculiar flavor 
of grease, salt, and tea-leaves. .Swallowing my nausea as best I 
could, in order to avoid offending my host, I drank off the nasty 
draught, and exclaimed, in the best Tartar 1 could master for the 
occasion, "Excellent!" 

My host was much pleased at my appieciation of the beverage, and 
said,"" Now 1 see that you are not a Eussian" (Nazar having prev- 
iously informed him that I was*an Englishman). " (Strange to say, 
Russians do not like my tea. Good tea comes from Hindostan. Tou 
will drink some more?" 

Fortunately Xsazar now came to my rescue. He called attention 
to the stars, said that it was late, and that we were going to start 
early; so, shaking hands with my host, 1 escaped from his well- 
meant but decidedly disagreeable hospitality. 



CHAPTEK XX111. 

1 found the guide lying at full length on an old piece of carpet, 
which he had placed by the fire. He showed no readiness to resign 
his place on my arrival. The little Tartar, however, soon removed 
him, for, taking up the cooking-pot, which was by that time filled 
with ice and water, he poured a portion of the contents on the head 
of the delinquent. The latter started up, uttered some fearful lan- 
guage at this summary proceeding, which he did not seem to relish, 
then rolling the folds of his sheepskin tighter round his body, he 
thretv himself down a few yards further off from the fire. 

" We sh?ll have trouble with him, " said my faithful follower; ' ' he 
says that we are not to start till to-morrow morning. 1 told him that 
you would strike the camp at midnight, and he remarked that in that 
case we should go alone, and that he would return to Kasala." 

It was not pleasant at the outset of the expedition to find this in- 
subordination in one of my party, and 1 felt that the only thing for 
me to do was to bring matters to a climax before the refractory spirit 
communicated itself to the camel-driver. 

" We shall march at twelve," 1 observed; " call me if I am not 
awake;" and buckling my sheepskin tightly around me, 1 soon fell 
fast asleep. 

It is a curious fact that almost every one of us, if we really wish 
to awake at a certain hour, invariably do so, and the more frequently 
a little before the time. The result was that at half-past eleven I 
started up, thinking that 1 had overslept myself; but, as half an hour 
at least was required to saddle and load the camels, I determined to 
awake the guide. 

Walking\ip to his side, I shook him well; he slowly opened his 
eye.-, but, ^seeing me, emitted a gruut of displeasure and turned over 
again. It is always difficult arousiug this class of people, particularly 
when they have once- made up their minds to sleep till morning. 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



In the deseit oi Africa 1 used to have the greatest trouble with 
them, one old sheik, who acted as head man of my party, being the 
most sleepy of mortals. However, 1 invented a method of arousing 
him, rchich proved invariably efficacious. His attire was scanty, 
and slightly indecent according to our ideas. It meiely consisted of 
a large sheet; this he was wont to wind many times round his body, 
and sleep, thus protected from the winds, which are very cutting at 
night-time in the Sahara. No amount of kicking would then awake 
the old fellow, and 1 found lhat the best plan was to gradually roll 
him over and over until the piece of calico was unwound, and the 
aged gentleman began to feel the cold breeze against his nude body. 

"This invariably produced the desired effect: and arising from the 
sand, he, in his turn, ivould visit the other camel-drivers, and per- 
form on them the same operation. However, my Kirghiz guide and 
Toorkoman camel-driver wore no such light apparel. Their sheep- 
skin garments were tightly buckled round their waists, and of 
course prevented any such action on my part. 

By way of commencement, 1 took down the walls of the kibitka, 
allowing the wind to exercise its full sway upon the bodies of the 
sleepers, and then trampled upon the embers of our fire. Nazar, 
who by this time had awaked, now came up and solved the diffi- 
culty by putting some hot ashes on the guide's sheepskin. The 
fellow had been awake the whole ot the time, and it was only his 
obstinacy which prevented him from getting up. In fact, no 
amount of* blows would have stimulated the man half so much us 
the fear that his clothes would suffer. 

He sprung to his feet, and, casting sundry imprecations upon 
Nazar's head, proceeded to arouse the Toorkoman. 

It was a strange, wild scene, the vast snow-covered steppe lighted 
up^as brightly as if it were midday by a thousand constellations, 
which reflected themselves in the cold white sheet below. 2s r ot a 
cloud dimmed the majesty of the heavens; the winct had lulled, and 
no sounds broke the stillness of the night; the Khivan and his fol- 
lowers were buried in the arms ot Morpheus; the merchant's head 
resting on his richly ornamented saddle, while a sword was placed 
by him ready for instant action; the camel drivers lay within the 
inclosure formed by their camels; my Toorkoman had huddled him- 
self up for warmth against the body of our largest quadruped; while 
his donkey, attracted' by the warmth of the fire, had hobbled to the 
embers, and was sleeping side by side with the trader. 

The Toorkoman resented strongly the unceremonious manner iu 
which he had been awakened; and he took hold of the shaft of his 
knife, prepared to avenge this kind of treatment. However, the 
guide putting his hand upon the hilt of the rusty old weapon which 
was strapped" to his side, the camei-driver succumbed, and helped 10 
pack the tent. 

There was now no more resistance. My men were thoroughly 
aroused, and a few minutes later our camels could be heard venting 
their indignation at being laden by deep, losv growls, bursting out at. 
intervals, as each beast thought that his own load was heavier than 
that of his fellows. 

There is a good df-al of nonsense talked and written about the 
patience and long- suffering of these so-called ships of the desert, I 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



103 



should much like any individual who thus sings the virtues of these 
huge animals to ride a thousand miles on a camel, as the writer of 
these lines has done, and find his patient quadruped either running 
away, 01 else suddenly lying down without any forewarning motion. 
This latter camel eccentricity is most disagreeable, as the rider has 
his backbone nearly dislocated, or otherwise feels as if his body were 
split up by the unexpected concussion. The power of camels to 
carry burdens is also much exaggerated; and although a strong 
beast will carry eight hundred pounds a day for a short journey, he 
very soon breaks "clown if you should increase the march. I had 
reduced the weight carried by my own animals to four hundred 
pounds per camel, and even with this light load had great difficulty 
in making thein march sixteen hours a day. 

Nazar by this tkne had blown up the embers of the fire into a 
flame, and was ready with some large beakers of boiling tea. This 
beverage becomes an absolule necessity when riding across the 
steppes in mid-winter, and is far superior in heat-giving properties 
to any wines or spirits. In fact, a traveler would succumb to the 
cold on the latter when the former will save his life. The hot liquid 
soon put the guide and Toorkoman in good humor; and the fond way 
in which they looked at my little servant when he handed them each 
a handful of sugar, showed me that this difficulty was settled. The 
quickest road to a dog's affection is through his stomach, and a 
Tartar's sympathies lie very much in the same direction. My men 
had now learned that they must obey; and the guide, this having 
once been thoroughly impressed upon his stolid mind, became 
thoroughly amenable to discipline. 

A considerable amount of lime, however, had been lost, and it 
was 3 a.m. before we were in the saddle. The Toorkoman knew the 
road, and started with Nazar and the caravan, while the guide and 
myself trotted forward at the slow, ambling pace peculiar to the 
animals of the steppes, and which some of them can keep up for 
twenty-four hours on an emergency. It is not quite so fast as a 
huntsman's average pace when returning with his hounds to the 
kennels, but a much more jolting one, as the Kirghiz horses are 
generally very rough. Indeed, 1 soon tound this out to my cost, for 
the sores on my arms and elbo ws were only half healed over, the 
limbs not having recovered from the effects of the frost-bites inflicted 
during my sleigh journey. Not being able to change my clothes 
was an additional source of annoyance for if 1 could only have 
bathed my arms there would have been less suffering; but undress- 
ing in those climes would only have added fuel to the flame, and 
created fresh frost-bites. 

After about two hours' riding, the guide suddenly stopped. He 
now proposed that we should wait until the caravan arrived; and, 
hobbling our animals with a piece ot cord made of horse-hair, and 
wjiich the Kirghiz use especially for this purpose, we threw ourselves 
down upon the snow, and tried "to sleep. 

No fire could be made, as there were no brambles in the neighbor- 
hood, and the cold, which was becoming very intense, penetrated 
through my sheepskin clothes. 

It was impossible to go to sleep, the frost not being of that violent 
nature which utterly prostrates a man, although it was quite suffiU 



104 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



cient to make me feel very uncomfortable. However, the guide 
seemed to be impervious to the weather, while some loud snoring 
informed me that he was lost to consciousness. 

There is a sort of dog-in-the-manger feeling which seizes many of 
us when we see another enjoying that of which we can not ourselves 
partake, and the weakness of human nature is such that 1 felt very 
much inclined to awake the slumberer, and make him teach me a lit- 
tle of the Kirghiz language, instead of letting the fellow rest in 
peace. However, I resisted the temptation, and, lighting a cigarette, 
walked up and down, straining my eyes in the direction of our 
gradually approaching caravan. 1 was looking forward to the mo- 
ment when we could once more trot onward, the rough motion of 
the horse, frost bites and all, not being so hard to bear as this weari- 
some onslaught of the elements, which utterly prevented slumber. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The sun now rose bright and glorious. All the colors of the rain- 
bow lighted up the sky. The wind had calmed, and the cold be- 
came less searching. Presently my little caravan loomed in sight. 
]Mazar was fast asleep, and stretched out at full length on the top of 
a gigantic camel, the little Tartar's legs dangling on each side of the 
saddle, while, for better security, he had strapped himself to a corn- 
sack. 

The guide now retaliated upon the sleeper for the ducking the lat- 
ter had inflicted upon him the previous evening: tie seized the 
camel's nose, and made that peculiar lisping sound which all Tartais 
use to these animals to make them lie down. The big brute went 
down at once on his knees with a sudden jerk, greatly alarming my 
little servant, who awoke, thinking that his strap had broken, and 
that he had been precipitated to the ground. 

In a tew minutes we had put up the walls of the kibitka, a fire 
was blazing, and one of the buckets containing frozen cabbage-soup 
was gradually becoming thawed over the flames. It was just 9 a.m., 
and the caravan had marched six hours, we having, according to the 
guide, done seventeen miles. What had surprised me most during 
our morning's march was the extreme endurance of our horses. The 
guide f requently had to dismount aud clean out their nostrils, which 
were entirely stuffed up with icicles; but the, little animals had 
plowed their way steadily through the snow, which was in some 
places quite two feet deep. The one 1 rode, which in England would 
not have been considered able to carry my boots, was as fresh as 
possible after his march of seventeen miles, and in spite of the weight 
on his back- -quite twenty stone— had never shown the least sign of 
fatigue. 

" He is a wonderful horse," said I to the guide. 

" Horse!" observed the latter, very contemptuously; " call him a 
horse! You should see my brother-in-law's horses at Kalenderhana, 
for they are beautiful animals, round and fat." 

" Where is Kalenderhana?" 1 inquired. 

" On this side of the Oxus," was the reply, " and on the main 
track." 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



105 



" Not on the road to Petro-Alexandrovsk?" 1 observed. 
" No, on the road to Khiva." 

A thought then suddenly occurred to me. Why not try and per- 
suade the fellow to take me to Kalenderhaua under the pretext of 
buying some horses from his brother-in-law? It was true that 1 
should still be a good many miles from Khiva; but it the guide 
could only be induced to continue Ihe journey as far as his brother- 
in-law's village, 1 might then find some other excuse to proceed 
onward, and enter the Khan's capital without having put my foot 
into the Russian tort. 

"How far is Kalenderhana from Petro-Alexandrovsk?" 1 in- 
quired. 

" About forty miles." 

" It is a pity your brother-in-law's kibitka is so far from Petro, 
for perhaps you are right about this animal. He is hardly up to 
my weight, or fit for so long a journey; however, as we are going 
to the fort, 1 shall buy some horses in that neighborhood. 1 am 
told that the horses there are very beautiful, that they are round and 
fat, and they can gallop like the wind." 

1 had said enough, and it seemed to me that the best course to 
pursue would be to let the conversation drop as if I had no particular 
interest in the matter, and had made up my mind as to what I was 
about to do. Nazar 1 had gained over to my views, having prom- 
ised him a hundred-ruble note the day we reached either Bokhara 
or Merve, via Khiva, and the little Tartar was well aware that if we 
once entered Petro- Alexanclrovsk he had but little chance of earning 
his promised reward. 

The guide could not have been persuaded to go to Khiva by a 
mere offer of money. It this had been suggested to him he would 
have become suspicious, and have made a mental calculation as to 
whether it would not have been better worth his while to obey the 
Governor of Kasala and receive a reward from him, for having, in 
spite of any offer, brought me straight to the fort, and carried out his 
instructions to the letter. However, there is one element in a Kirghiz's 
mental composition that outweighs every ordinary pecuniary con- . 
sideiation, and that is his intense love for horse-dealing; and no 
Yorkshire farmer is Keener in this particular branch of commerce 
than these half-savage wanderers in the steppes of Tartary. 

The Toorkoman, who was superintending the cuisine, now an- 
nounced that the soup was ready, and we were soon at work swal- 
lowing large spoonfuls of this favorite Russian dish, stchi. It was 
not an appetizing mixture to look at; masses of thick grease floated 
on the top of the finely grated cabbage, while a few sticks mixed 
with some pieces of meat which had been cut up in the soup showed 
that one of the fagots had fallen into the caldron. 

The camel-driver again distinguished himself as a trencherman, 
on this occasion eating the whole of a tour-pound loaf. Occasion- 
ally he would bury his head in the soap vessel and suck up the half- 
tepid liquor, much to the indignation of Nazar and the guide, the 
former remarking that this way of eating was not fair, at the same 
time offering the Toorkoman a spoon. This the latter gratefully 
declined, and made my followers still more angry by saying that the 
soup tasted better if eaten in his manner. 



106 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The time sped by rapidly, when, on looking upward, I found that 
the sun would soon be at his highest altitude, and that we had al- 
ready been nearly three hours stationary. The horses had finished 
feeding; so, saddling the animals, we proceeded on our journey with 
the Khivan caravan, which had by this time caught us up. 

The merchant now announced his intention of continuing the 
march in our company, at all events for that day, in spite of the 
extra weight carried by his camels. He was very inquisitive about 
England and her manufactures, the more particularly as one of his 
relatives had visited Hindustan, and he himself had been several 
times to Bokhara and Balkh. 

" "When the railway is opened from Sizeran to Orenburg, 1 shall 
go to St. Petersburg," he observed. " They tell me (hat U is like 
an enchantment, that it is like a fairy city." 

" The women expose their faces," ! remarked. 

" Yes; that I have observed during my visits to Orenburg, and 
was at first surprised to see that their husbands did not mind it any 
more than do these barbarous Kirghiz." As he said these words 
he looked contemptuously at the guide, who was riding a little in 
advance of the party, engaged in singing a song descriptive of bis 
love for mutton. 

The Kirghiz poetry is filled with odes in the honor of sheep, the 
natives placing this animal on the highest pinnacle of their estima 
tion — after their wives, and, indeed, sometime before them. Sheep 
make up the entire rkhes of these nomad tribes. A Kirghiz lives 
upon their milk during the summer and autumn. At that time of 
the year he would consider it a great piece of extravagance to eat 
any meat, and this is only done should any animal become ill and 
die, in which case tnere is a feast in the kibitka. However, if a 
guest arrives, nothing is too good for him, and hospitality is shown 
by slaying one of the flock. 

It is then a red-letter day, and it is remembered long afterward by 
the owner of the animal. 

In winter, when there is nothing else upon which the Kirghiz can 
subsist, they are obliged occasionally to kill some of their sheep, 
varying this diet by eating either a horse or a little cgmel's flesh — 
that is to say, should any of these last named quadrupeds meet with 
an accident or die a natural death in the neighborhood. A native's 
clothes are made entirely of sheep's wool manufactured into coarse 
homespun. TV hen he wishes to bu} r a horse or a camel, he gives so 
many sheep in exchange; and when he wants a wife, he pays for 
her in the same commodity, a good fat sheep being worth in those 
parts about four rubles, or eleven shillings of our money. 

The Kirghiz have a custom of betrothing their sons to girls often 
several years before the latter have arrived at puberty. This is done 
by th 3 parents of the interested parties, the father of the lad giving 
so many of the flock to the girl's parents. When the lady is o;d 
enough the bridegroom fetches her Home to his habitation. Her 
father, if he be generous, returns to the young couple the same 
number of animals that he has previously received, with a few in 
addition as interest. But this is only amone; the more wealthy 
families; the heads of poorer establishments do not feel inclined to 



A KIBE TO KHIVA* 



give back any of their sheep, and prefer being thought stingy to 
having nothing to subsist upon m the winter. 

Sometimes the matrimonial management is made by the would-be 
husband, who, going straight to the girl's parents, strikes a bargain 
with them for their daughter. When all things are arranged he 
returns alone to his own kibitka, which is, perhaps, two or three 
hundred versts from the young lady's home. After waiting here a 
few days, be goes back for his bride. 

It is "considered a sign of manhood should the bridegroom, regard- 
less of robbers and marauding parties, bring no companions when 
journeying toward the kibitka of his betrothed. The young lady 
herself sits inside the tent, and sings a ditty which has reference to 
her lover's bravery, to her own good looks, and to his good fortune, 
to sheep, and to the festivities about to ensue. 

The women of the tribe squat on the ground and form a circle 
round the tent. If the bridegroom attempts to enter the bride's 
kibitka, the jealous females rush forward and beat him with sticks, 
the most unfavored and elderly of the unmarried women taking 
great deliglit in this performance. However, love generally pre- 
vails; the young man's back smarts, but he forces a passage into 
the kibitka. His beloved one now throws herself into his arms, and 
he there seeks a solace for all his troubles. The young lady then 
presents him with some feathers, red silk, and cloves, this being the 
accustomed offering made by a Kirghiz maiden to her bridegroom 
to testify to him her purity ^and affection. The happy couple are 
now left alone, the women outside singing some native ditty, in 
which the joys of marriage are rather forcibly described. 

Feasting then begins; friends and relations come from all parts of 
the steppe, having brought horses and sheep as a contribution to the 
festival; indeed, without this, it would be impossible for r.he host to 
give the entertainment, for he would be literally eaten out of house 
and home. 

Sometimes a hundred sheep and forty or fifty horses are slain, the 
iron caldron being kept all day long at boiling-point. The Kirghiz 
stuff themselves to repletion^ and afterward carry away in their 
trousers, which they tie up at the knee, the meat they are unable to 
svv allow at the time. It is a peculiar pocket, the roast mutton in 
this manner coming closely in contact with the Kirghiz legs; but 
such little matters do not affect these half -wild wanderers. When 
the feast is over the games begin, and the animals which have not 
been eaten are set apart as prizes, the young men wrestling with 
each other. Ko tripping is allowed, no dexterity comes into play, 
and the contest is decided by sheer strength. 

After this there are horse-races, the length of the course being 
from twenty to thirty miles, this distance being accomplished at the 
rate of from eighteen to twenly miles an hour, the successful rider 
sometimes receiving eight or nine horses as a prize. 

Then the gills mount the swiftest horses which they can borrow 
from their friends or relations, and one of the Amazons, challeng- 
ing the men to race against her, gallops across the steppe. She is 
pursued by a horseman, who strives to place his hands round her 
waist, the girl all this time showering blows with her whip on the 
head of her admirer, and doing her best to keep him at bay. If he 



108 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



does not succeed in his attempt, the girl will often turn round upon 
him, and so belabor the unfortunate wight with her whip that he 
frequently falls off his horse, and is then an object of scorn and 
derision to all the assembled guests; but if, on the contrary, he 
succeeds in placing his hand on the girl's breast* she suirenders at 
once, they ride away together amid the cheers and encouraging 
shouts of the company, and it is not considered strict etiquette to 
follow, no chaperons in Tartary being considered necessary. 

The Toorkomans sometimes decide the knotty point of who is to 
marry the prettiest girl in their tribe in the same primitive manner. 
On these occasions the whole tribe turns out, and the young lady, 
being allowed her choice of horses, gallops away from her suitors. 
They follow her, and she avoids those whom she dislikes, and seeks 
to throw herself in the way of the object of her affection!?. The 
moment that she is caught she becomes the wife of her captor. 
Further ceremonies are dispensed with, and he then takes her to his 
tent. 

" What do you pay in your country for a wife?" asked the guide 
when 1 had finished questioning him on these subjects. 

" We pay nothing. We ask the girl, and if she says yes, and her 
parents do not refuse, we marry her." 

" But if the girl does not like you — if she hits you on the head 
with her whip, or gallops away when you ride up to her side— what 
do you do in that case?" 

*'*■ Why, we do not marry her." 

" But if you want to marry her very much; if you love her more 
than your best horse and all your sheep and camels put together?" 
" We can not marry her without her consent." 
" And are the girls moon-faced?" 
" Some of them." 

The guide appeared to be lost in a fit of meditation very unusual 
amid the Arabs of tne steppes. Presently, removing his sheepskin 
hat, and rubbing his closely shaven head, he said, " Will you take 
me with you to your country? It would be so nice; 1 should get a 
moon-faced wife, and all for nothing. Why, she would not cost so 
much as a sheep. 

'* But supposing she would not have you?" 

" JNot have me!" and the guide here looked at me in astonishment, 
which he emphasized in a manner peculiar to his countrymen, by 
using his fingers instead of a pocket-handkerchief. *' Not have me! 
Well, 1 should give her a white wrapper, or a ring for her ears or 
her nose. ' * 

" And if she still refused you?" 

" Why, 1 would give her a gold ornament for her head; and what 
girl is there who could resist such a present?" 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The afternoon was now drawing to a close, and by this time the 
guide and myself had ridden on considerably ahead of the Khivan 
and his party; the merchant, who spoke a little Russian, having 
sometimes acted as interpreter between myself and my follower, i 



A RIDE TO KHIVA . 



109 



had previously desired Nazar to continue marching with the Toorko- 
man and our three camels until they came up to us. 

From time to time the guide would lea?e the track, and, gallop- 
ing his horse to any little rising ground in the neighborhood, search 
for a couvenient<£pot upon which to encamp. At last he selected a 
small ravine, sheltered from the wind by two low hills. There was 
a great deal of brushwood in the neighborhood, and 1 then learned 
that this spot, even in the winter time, was a resort of the wander- 
ing tribes, as a certain amount of grass could always be found be- 
neath the snow; in fact, sufficient to keep life in their animals till 
the early spring. But now, for as far as w 7 e could see, there was no 
living soul besides ourselves in sight. 

The cold had become more piercing than ever. The felt which 
covered the stirrup-irons had worn off in places, and 1 had continu- 
ally to remove my feet from the stirrup-irons in order to prevent 
their adhering to the steel. We looked everywhere, but in vain, for 
the caravan; so, dismounting and hobbling our horses, we began 
cutting down what bruslrwood we could find for a fire, a small ax 
purchased at Kasala, and which was hung from my saddle, now 
proving very useful. Fortunately, the wood was not at all damp; 
the guide had found some grass a's dry as tinder ; and in about five 
minutes we had made a fire. 

An hour passed aw ay, and then another, but no signs of the cara- 
van. 

My followers now began to be alarmed, and proposed that we 
should retrace our steps. 

After about half an hour's ride we came upon the Khivan's en- 
campment. It appeared that he had stopped at this place, and as 
our Toorkoman had declared that he did not know the way, Nazar 
had taken upon himself to halt and to unload the camels. 

My feet, by this time were suffering a good deal from the cold; 
but it would never have done to have given in to my lazy followers, 
or these delays might be repeated. 1 instantly ordered them to 
saddle and load the camels. A few grumbles could be heard, but 
the men obeyed, and 1 then returned with them to the spot my 
guide had originally chosen. 

The lesson produced its effect, anil the trouble given in reloading 
the caravan proved most efficacious, as on no subsequent occasion 
did the Toorkoman attempt to halt until such time as he had come 
up with the guide and myself. 

1 was now fifty versts from Kasala; and as the camels had 
marched for sixteen hours with but a short halt the previous even- 
ing, i determined to lemain till dawn, and then stait. This time I 
had little difficulty in awaking my party; they were becoming disci- 
plined, and the moment I shook the guide he aiose and began to 
load the camels. 

1 had promised to buy a sheep, if w^e met any Kirghiz on the road 
who would sell us one. This had greatly raised the spirits of my 
followers, the guide having improvised a song about the liberality 
of the Englishman about to give them a whole sheep, of which he 
was to have the liver and the most delicate morsels as his own por- 
tion. 

Quantities of shrubs on both sides of the path, and extending 

% 



110 



A BIDE TO KHIVA* 



right and left as far as the eye could reach, varied the monotony of 
the scene; bright-colored grass and low brushwood in great abun- 
dance were interspersed with thick masses of stunted bramble- trees. 
It was evident that we were approaching a locality frequented by 
beings like ourselves, for human footsteps could besplaiuly traced in 
the hack leading to some black dots yet only dimly seen in the 
gradually breaking mom. Larger and larger they became, until at 
last a thick cloud of dark-blue smoke issuing from the roofs of these 
dark objects showed us that we were approaching the dwelling-place 
of some Kirghiz. 

On descending a steep ravine we came upon what appeared to have 
been a sheep-pen, for the footprints of these animals could be here 
seen in great abundance, and an inclosure of piled up logs showed 
where the sheep had but recently been confined. The guide now got 
off his horse, and looked at me complacently. "Bah, bah!" 'lie 
said, and, opening his mouth from ear to ear, showed a row of white 
teeth which would have been the envy of many a London dame. 

However, he did not wish to go forward at once to the kibitkas. 
We should not present the same majestic appearance alone, and un- 
accompanied, as we should make a little later, and at the head of 
our caravan. In Russia the importance of a traveler is gauged by 
the value of his furs, but in Asia by the number of his retinue. The 
guide was aware of this, and in spite of his longing for mutton, he 
was enabled to restrain himself until such time as we could appear 
with proper dignity. 

1 myself was not sorry of the opportunity afforded me to obtain a 
vlittle sleep. Continued traveling had thoroughly tired me out, and, 
flinging myself down by the side of a huge bonfire of brambles, 1 
became instantly lost to consciousness. When 1 awoke, the sun 
was descending toward the west, and Nazar, coming up, told me 
that the caravan had been waiting there two hours, but, seeing that 
1 was so fast asleep, he had not wished to awake me. 

Another half hour, and we rode up to the principal kibitka. It 
evidently belonged to a wealthy Kirghiz. The dwelling was three 
times the size of an ordinary kibitka, and the walls were ornamented 
with straw plaiting of different colors, while an abundance of hay in 
an inclosure adjoining the dwelling showed that the proprietor was 
a prudent man, and had laid in a supply of fodder for his horses. 

A girl who was carrying a lame sheet of ice to the tent came up 
to the guide, who asked her if there were any sheep for sale. This 
. inquiry instantly produced a sensation in the kibitka, and the whole 
family came out to have a look at the Ocesus who actually wanted 
to buy a whole sheep. 

The head of the kibitka was a man considerably above the middle 
age. He must in his earlier days have been a splendid type of man- 
kind, for even now his muscular neck, square shoulders, and enor- 
mous girth of chest, showed that he would be a dangerous opponent 
in a hand-to-hand struggle. He was followed by a woman suckling 
a child, and in rear of "her, and taking a shy, inquisitive glance at 
the new arrival from behind the door of the kibitka, was the girl 
the guide had accosted on arrival. She was an exception to the gen- 
erality of Kirghiz women, who rarely exhibit any marked signs of 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



Ill 



beauty, and their high cheek bones, bullet heads, and low foreheads 
are not often appreciated by the foreigner. 

A moon-faced girl in a London ball-room would be added to the 
list ot wall flowers, though in a Tartar's estimation that class of 
beauty is the highest to which the fair sex can aspire. The ice- 
bearer, however, would have held her own, if pitted for good looks, 
against any European oelle; and her complexion, two or three shades 
darker than that of her companions, made my thoughts wander sev- 
eral thousand miles in another direction, and 1 bethought me of tar- 
off Seville, tor the girl might have been a gitana, from Triana by 
the side of the Guadalquivir. 

She was evidently from a southern clime, her small mouth and 
well shaped nose— a relief from the pug probosces which, for the 
most part, distinguish the Tartars — denoting a Persian origin, very 
likely the daughter ot a captive who, in years gone by, had been 
carried oft in a raid from thecounlryon the other side of the Attrek, 
and found favor in the eyes of her master. 

The old man volunteered to lead us to the sheep-fold, so, dis- 
mounting from our horses, we accompanied him in that direction. 
The pretty girl, who had recovered from her shyness, hurried for- 
ward to catch one of the flock for our inspection. She ran like a 
hare over the rough stumps and brushwood which studded the snow- 
covered ground, a large number of black -faced sheep scampering be- 
fore her. At last she came up with one which, fatter than its com- 
panions, could not keep up with the flock. Suddenly stooping, she 
seized her victim by one foot, and with a rapid movement turned 
him over on his back. A cleai, ringing laugh resounded from her 
lips. She turned round to us and pointed triumphantly at the sheep; 
then, drawing her hand across her neck, she went through, in pan- 
tomime, the operation of cutting his throat. 

My guide was now in his element; he rushed forward, and bend- 
ing down, punched the unfortunate animal in the ribs; then look- 
ing up at me, he made use of the one word, " Fat!" 

A bargain was soon struck, the price being four rubles; and we 
returned to the kibitka to pay a visit to the proprietor, the girl going 
on in front with her arm round the neck of my recently acquired 
purchase, the slight shadow ot sentiment created in my mind at the 
first sight of her beautiful face becoming rapidly effaced as 1 saw 
how eager she was to play the part of a butcher. 

On entering the tent 1 found that the ground was covered with 
thick carpets, a layer of hay having been put down between them 
and the ground. The carpets were of many colors, and on inquiry 
I learned that they had been purchased from a merchant who had 
passed that way on his road to Kasala. A cushion was brought for 
me, and I was given the post of honor by the fire, which consisted 
ot a few red embers piled up in a shallow basin of dried clay; the 
proprietor squatting down opposite me, while the rest of his family, 
seated on their hams, their knees and chins touching, gazed curious- 
ly upon the newly arrived stranger. 

The children were so wrapped up in skins and furs that each 
child looked three times his natural size. They were amusing them- 
selves by teasing the unfortunate sheep, which was tied up to the 
door of the kibitka. A single- barreled gun— the barrel tied tu the 



112 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



stock by a leathern thong — and two old swords, were hung up in 
the corners of the tent; a tew iron cooking pans, a bright-colored 
earthenware tea pot, and some wooden spoons, stood on a gaudily 
painted wooden box, which contained the valuables ot the proprie 
tor. 

A large brass pipe was near the fire. It resembled a Turkish so- 
called hubble-bubble, as the smoke had first ot all to pass through 
some water which was contained in a receptacle below the bowl, 
while, instead of there being a long india-rubber tube through which 
to inhale the fumes, this was substituted by a wooden stem about 
two feet long, to the end ot which was a horn mouth -piece. The 
tobacco smoked was very different from any 1 have seen in other 
countries, and was so strong that two or three whiffs were sufficient 
to prostrate for the moment any man not accustomed to its use. 

The host, taking up his pipe, slowly inhaled the fumes, until after 
about half a minute he fell back upon his carpet, apparently stupe- 
fied by the effects of the tobacco. Indeed, 1 subsequently heard that 
all natives who much indulge in this kind of smoking are subject to 
heart disease, and a number ot sickly Khivans were pointed out to 
me as victims to this habit. 

We were informed that the snow on the desert in front of us was 
very deep in several places, and that we should have a great deal ot 
difficulty in riding through some of the drifts. To the~guide's in- 
quiry whether there had been any bauds ot Toorkomans in those 
parts, the answer was "No;" that the country was, comparatively 
speaking, quiet; but that as the Oxus was frozen, no one coild tell 
whether seme Toorkoman party or other might not hare crossed the 
river during the last few days. 

There was a sort of desultory warfare, which is carried on at in- 
tervals between the Russians and some of the Toorkoman tribes, the 
former shooting down the Bedouins of the steppes without any 
mercy whenever they catch them. Where might, is right, a great 
deal can be done by this terrorizing system. However, it is as well 
to call things by their proper names; and it would be more correct 
to say that the progress of Russia in the East is based upon the 
sword and the gibbet, rather than upon Christianity and the Bible. 

The guide now became impatient, and proposed that we- should 
return to our tent, which had been pitched at about ten minutes' 
walk from the aul. He was a little alarmed lest 1 should invite his 
compatriots to the feast, in which case, as it is always the custom to 
help the guests first — and their appetites he gauged by his own — he 
thought that there would be little or nothing left for himself and 
ISTazar. In the meantime the young lady — the ci-devant object of 
my admiration— had cut the sheep's throat, and a little while later 
the carcass was brought to our encampment, the fair butcher receiv- 
ing the skin and head as a recompense for her trouble. 

My followers were in their element. Huge lumps of half cooked 
meat and fat rapidly disappeared down their throats, the feasting 
going on steadily during several nours. At last nature. could do no 
more; all the belts had been let out to the last hole; and Nazar, put- 
ting his head close to mine, eructed loudly in my face, the Turko- 
man and the guide performing the same operation, but fortunately 
at a little distance. This was done in honor of the entertainer, and 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



113 



in order lo show their appreciation of the repast. Indeed, to such 
ao extent is this filthy habit fashionable in Central Asia, that a Kir- 
ghiz who has eaten nothing in his friend's house will do his best to 
eruct outside so that all th£ by-standers may say, " See how he has 
been entertained! How he must have feasted! His host has hon- 
ored him. He must be a distinguished man/' 

We continued our march at day-break, and rode toward a spot 
known by the Kirghiz as Berd Kasgan, wbeie there was said to be a 
well of brackish water. Our horses and camels had not drunk 
since leaving Kasala. They had onl^ eaten snow; and although the 
Kirghiz never give their herds of horses any water during tne win- 
ter months, but leave them to shift for themselves, the animals suffer 
very much in consequence, and when they are doing hard work the 
owner has to give them water at least every fourth day. 

Our course now lay nearly due south. Occasionally we came to 
places where the wind acting upon the snow had blown it into all 
sorts of curious forms and shapes. Sometimes, in the misty gloom 
of awakening day, we seemed to be riding through endless ceme- 
teries, the frozen patches resembling slabs or marble grave-stones, 
this apparently unbounded burial-ground extending across the des- 
ert as far as the eye could reach. 

As 1 was riding across the plain my horse stumbled slightly, 
when the guide remarked, "How thin the poor beast is! It you 
could only see my brother-in-law's horses!" 

" A Veil," 1 replied, " it is rather out of the way to ride to Kalen- 
derhana; but, to oblige you, 1 would not object to stretch a point, 
and go there instead of to Petro-Alexandrovsk." 

" What would the commandant say?" observed the guide. " He 
might punish me, perhaps I should be beaten." 

" That is your business, not mine," 1 remarked; " but the horses 
are beautiful at the fort. We will go there." 

"No," said the guide, "we will goto Kalenderhana, and then 
from my aul to the fort. It will be a little way around: however, 
that does not signify. We will not say a word to the commandant, 
and you shall buy such a horse! You will look with scorn at every 
other horse you may see, and people will say, ' What a fortunate 
man!' " 

We had now thoroughly outstripped the Khivan, being at least 
twelve hours ahead of his caravan. 1 was not sorry for this, as 
otherwise the sudden change in ray route might have surprised him. 
We had left OotchOotkool, a spot marked on Wyld's inapof Khiva, 
considerably to our rear, while the country was a succession of nill 
and dale, but much more undulating toward my bridle-hand than in 
the direction of the setting sun. 

Our course, as we neared a spot known by the Kirghiz as Tan 
Sooloo, was due south. From this place 1o Tooz, our next halting? 
place, the distance w r as sixty versts. On either side of the track 
there were deep hollows and ravines innumerable, while ^aksaool 
and brushwood became each moment more scarce. Apparently all 
this country had been at some remote period" buried beneath the sea. 
Frequently we came across shells and other marine Crustacea, 
scattered m profusion along our path, while at Tooz we passed a 



114: 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



small salt lake which lay about a hundred yards to the east of the 

track, and was frozen as hard as adamant. 

Tooz signifies "salt," in the Tartar language, and the Band all 
about the lake is saturated with salt, ftideed, the traveler does not 
require any stronger testimony to this fact than the peculiar tasle of 
his tea, for, however, carefully the snow is chosen, it is sure to be- 
come mixed with a little sand; and tbe more you drink, the thirstier 
you become. According to the guide, there were two much larger 
sheets of salt-water to the west/ dividing the ground between our- 
selves and the Sea of Aral. • 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

It was a quaint spectacle to watch my little caravan as we rode 
away from our different encampments. First came the guide, clad 
m a long dressing-gown of crimson cloth, which he had exchanged 
for the more homely garment in which he commenced the journey. 
His robe, which was lined with sheepskin, was tightly girt round 
his loins with a broad blue sash; a tall, conical shaped black hat sur- 
mounted his bronzed countenance. His sword dangled at his side, 
and he used the weapon sheathed as a whip to urge on his steed, now 
a little done up by this constant marching, through the snow. 

Then appeared a still more ludicrous figure — the Toorkoman camel- 
driver. He rode a donkey he had purchased just before leaving 
Kasala. The long legs of the rider nearly touched the ground, while 
his figure was wrapped up in a tattered robe that looked as if it 
might have formed part of an old Turkish carpet. His head was 
adorned with a white sheepskin hat of the coal-scuttle pattern. His 
feet, which had first been carefully wrapped up in many thicknesses 
of cloth, were inserted in a pair of enormous high boots. Around his 
arm was hitched the end of a rope; this was attached to a huge 
camel, which strode behind the donkey. 

On the top of the camel lay my Tartar servant, generally fast 
asleep, with arms and legs outstretched, while a cord was bound 
round his waist, and attached to some corn-bags to keep him from 
rolling over. The other two camels stalked along in the rear, the 
whole cavalcade throwing weird and grotesque shadows on the pale 
carpet of snow which exaggerated a thousand times in its reflections 
the motley appearance of my party. 

We were approaching Jana Darya, the dried-up bed of a river 
which is lost in the sand. All the 'desert in this neighborhood was 
once thickly inhabited. Canals cut on all sides irrigated the now 
parched up soil; and this not so long ago, for there are men alive 
who say that they have heard tell of* the former richness of this 
district. 

The grandfather of the present Khan of Khiva is said to have been 
the cause of this once fertile plain having been changed into an ab- 
solute waste; for, fearing that the Russians would make use of the 
Jana Darya and its communication with the Syr Darya as a means 
to advance upon Khiva, he had a dam built near the junction of the 
rivers. The Syr Darya then no longer supplied the Jana's chnnel; 
gradually the water dried up, and the inhabitants of this former rich 
district emigrated by thousands to the other side of the Oxus. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



115 



Later on, and after the Russians had built Fort Perovsky, the dam 
was destroyed, and the J ana Darya once more fertilized the distiict. 
However, the Jaxartes became then so shallow that tiie steamers in 
the Sea ot Aral could with difficulty ascend to Tashkent so the old 
channel was once more blocked, and thousands of acres of once 
fertile territory are now a barren waste. 

From Jana Darya we rode sixty versts, or forty miles, without a 
halt. 1 must say that it much surprised me to see how well the 
Kirghiz horses stood the long journeys. We had now gone three 
hundred miles, and my little animal, in spite of his skeleton-like ap- 
pearance, carried me quite as well as tire day he left Kasala; this, 
probably, being owing to the change in his food from grass to barley. 
We are apt to 'think very highly of English horses, and deservedly, 
so tar as pace is concerned ; but if it came to a question of endurance, 
1 much doubt whether our large and well-fed horses could compete 
with the little half -starved Kirghiz animals. This is a subject which 
must be borne in mind in the event of future complications in the 
East; and should the military law of universal conscription be ever 
applied to the nomad Kirghiz, Russia, besides haviug a greater force 
of cavalry than any other nation, will be supplied with^the hardiest 
horses in the world. • 

Now the snow became scarcer along the track, and could only be 
found in thin patches, the sand being almost everywhere visible, 
an 1 looking, beneath the influence of a glaring sun, like a sea of 
molten gold studded with silver isles. Presently the latter, in their 
turn, could no longer be seen: the snow had entirely disappeared 
from our gaze, and an unbounded ocean of sand lay behind us, be- 
fore us, and all around. 

It must be thought that the cold had equally taken flight; and the 
two days' march when the ground was exposed to view were the 
most trying of the journey. The mercury had descended to 80° be- 
low zero, and the wind was more bitter than ever — in tact, we could 
not. take off our gloves for an instant without the hands and fingers 
being instantly benumbed, and powerless to do their work. My 
followers had a great advantage in this respect, as their Eastern attire 
required no buttoning; while, if ever 1 unbuttoned my coat, my 
fingers lost their feeling, aud the little Tartar's services had to be 
called into requisition to button it for me again. 

Just before reaching a spot known to the Kirgniz as Kamstakat, we 
rode through a raised plain surrounded by sand-hills. It formed a 
vast natural amphitheater ot a ciicular shape, with a diameter of quite 
fj ve miles. In the center ot this plateau we came upon a fresh-water 
pond, the result of the rain, which falls very heavfly during the rainy 
season, in the months of February, March and April. A good sup- 
ply of ice was chopped out with the ax, and some large pieces ot 
the frozen w T ater strapped to the saddle of one of the camels, for us 
to melt, if required, during our onward journey. 

The country now again showed signs of a return to vegetation. 
It was covered with thick brushwood, the shrubs being much larger; 
and the general appearance of the landscape betokened that we were 
approaching a more fertile soil. For the first time since 1 left Ka- 
sala, traces of game were to be found. Here and there a hare would 
dart across our path, while herds of the saigak, as difficult to ap- 



116 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



proach. as the chamois, could be seen bounding away from us at the 
first sound ot our approach. Pheasants were said to be plentiful in 
the neighborhood, and occasionlly we could see the birds running 
betore us in the distance, seeking to hide themselves in the thick 
loliage. 

Up to this time every thing had gone smoothly with my party, and 
no one had shown any symptoms of illness; but this happy state of 
things was not destined to continue, tor the camel-driver now began 
to show decided signs ot being done up. He had caught a fever 
some years before at Bokhara, and was subject to periodical attacks 
of this malady. He groaned a great deal, could not look at food, 
and on trying to mount his donkey fell backward in the attempt. 
There was nothing for it but to strap him on to a camel and con- 
tinue on our way, the poor fellow writhing with pain at every 
movement of the animal. 1 offered him some quinine, but he had a 
horror of medicine, and said that he should not be well till he saw 
his moullah, or priest, when the latter could conjure the Evil One out 
of him. 

The ToorKomans and other nomad races in the steppes of ten attrib- 
ute a disease or illness to the devil, and think, like some nations ot 
old, that they can not be cured unless a holy man will exorcise the 
demon, and, with him, tneir malady. All that night the camel- 
driver groaned incessantly, and he showed such signs of prostra- 
tion that I much feared we should never get him alive to the 
guide's aul. 

About thirty miles from the fresh- water pond in the wilderness we 
came to a place known as Karakol. Here we saw, to the west of 
our route, what appeared to be a large lake. However, the guide 
said that it was an overflow from the Amu Darya. Close by the 
water there were a few Kirghiz kibitkas, the ground being culti- 
vated in this neighborhood, while corn and various grasses for cattle 
abounded throughout the district. 

We now encountered a small party of Khivans. My guide gave 
them the customary salutation, " Salani aaleikom;" however, they 
made no response. Their leader had observed by my dress that I was 
a foreigner. He looked fixedly at us, and recognized the guide as 
the one who had aided the Russians during their advance against 
the Khan's country. The Khivan stopped his horse, and called out 
to him, "There you are again, with dogs of unbelievers! 1 have 
little doubt but that you are an unbeliever yourself." 

This was too much for the equanimity ot my guide, who piqued 
himself upon his rigid observance of all Mohammedan rites. Did he 
not wash his feet with snow the prescribed number of times a day, 
in spite of the danger of having them trost-bitten, and had he not 
once" suffered in consequence? Did he not rub his hands with snow 
betore eating? and had he ever been known to put his left hand in 
the dish? No; 1 might be called a dog of an unbeliever, and that 
was very likely the case. Had he not seen me eat some sausages of 
that kind which, when at Kasala, he had been informed were made 
of the flesh of the unclean animal? and was not one pot of the pie- 
served meat which 1 had purchased at Orenburg, and of which he 
always refused to partake, also a composition of the same foul 
beasi? 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



117 



The insult vsas too great to be borne, and he made a tremendous 
effort lo draw his cimeter. This was a hopeless task ; so, rushing 
forward with his whip in the air, he assailed his enemy by smiting 
vigorous blows on a new Astrakhan cap which adorned the head or 
the Khivan. The latter retaliated by striking the guide on his crim- 
son dressing-gown with a short camel stick. The damage done to 
their clothes was great, and the Khivan, suddenly seizing the skirt 
of my guide's garment, tore it up the back, the sound of the tear 
making my follower more furious than ever; for he was very proud 
of tire robe in question, and was looking forward to displaying it to 
his brother-in-law at Kalenderhana. 

The combatants became breathless with their exertions. The 
Khivan's companions surrounded the guide, and began to play with 
their knife-handles in a menacing manner. They were six men to 
two, as the guide and myself had outstripped our caravan by seveial 
versls. I now drew my pistol from its holster, and this action cn 
my part, immediately produced the desired effect. A revolver is a 
formidable weapon, and the band of Khivans had sufficient discrimi- 
nation to recognize its use. Their party fell back a little, and one 
of them, putting his knife down on the ground, said something to 
me, which 1 understood meant, " It is not your business to interfere; 
let them settle it between themselves." To this I could not make 
any objection; when the opponents, seeing that they were to be the 
only combatants, left off wrestling together. 

•My ffuide, who was very much out of breath, now blew his nose 
with his fingers as a sijzn of contempt for his adversary, and squatted 
on his haunches on the ground. His foe, not to be outdone, per- 
formed the same feat with his nasal organ, arid sat down opposite 
him. They began a verbal battle in which the reputations of their 
respective female relatives were much aspersed. This continued 
for about five minutes, when, becoming tired with waiting, 1 walk- 
ed up to them and said, " Aman " (peace); then, taking hold of 
their wrists, I forcibly made them shake hands. " Salani aalei- 
kom " (peace be with you), at last said the guide. " Aaleikom 
asalam " (with you be peace), was the answer, and the combatants 
separated. 

We now encountered a party of men and women who were en- 
gaged in unearthing a quantity of grass from a deep cutting in the 
ground. This grass had been mowed in the previous autumn, and 
was thus preserved until such time as the owner required it; the 
extreme cold, or perhaps the . dryness of the air, keeping the grass 
as fresh as the day it was cut. Our road became less clearly de- 
fined, frequently making the most circuitous turns, and winding 
round in a northerly direction to turn once more due south. We 
passed by deep holes and chasms in the path, and which would 
have made it dangerous traveling after night-fall if it had not been 
for the brightness of the moon and stars, which lighted up the sur- 
rounding country and turned the night almost into day, the chasms 
being caused by the heavy rain-falls which occur during the wet 
season. 

The camel-driver at last showed symptoms of recovery; the fever 
had left him, but he was wretchedly weak, and could not sit on his 
donkey, Nazar riding that animal, having given up his own huge 



118 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



steed to the Toorkoman. Presently we came across some Kirghiz 
tombs, which were constructed of clay dried iu the sun. Some of 
them rose from thirty to forty feet above the ground. These marked 
the resting-places of the richer Kirghiz, who, like Abraham and the 
forefathers of old, wandered from place to place with their flocks 
and herds, seldom, however, omitting to select a plat of ground and 
build a tomb to contain their ashes. 

So, like the vanity of the human race, we too build tombs in order- 
that some distinguished personage may be remembered, while 
posterity soon forgets the very name of the departed. How many 
Egyptians are there, that know who built the Pyramids, and for 
whom they were constructed? flow many Englishmen can tell us 
in whose honor some of the statues in the parks and squares of 
London were erected? The poorer Kirghiz, like the poor in other 
countries, have no such honors paid to their remaiDS— no pillar or 
stone marks the spot where their bodies are turned to dust. " Where 
the tree falls, there let it lie." This old saying well applies to them; 
a hole is dug, a fen shovelfuls oi sand are thrown over their re- 
mains, and, save perhaps by their horses and camels, the children 
of the desert are soon forgotten. 

The guide and 1 had by this time ridden a long way in front of our 
caravan, and we detei mined to await its arrival. We were on the 
borders of Khivan territory, and it was difficult to say how the in- 
habitants would receive us. 

We lay down by the side of the road, and in a few minutes were 
fast asleep. Indeed, after several days of almost incessant travel- 
ing, 1 found myself continually dozing off on horseback, and then 
clutching convulsively at the pommel of my saddle, as the animal 
swerved and threw me off my balance. AVhen we awoke, the guide 
was anxious to know whether the camels had passed us during the 
night. Looking down on the ground, he carefully inspected the 
various tracks — one of our camels having a peculiar mark upon a 
hind foot, which enabled my man to distinguish her tread from 
that of a million quadrupeds. 

The vision of the Kirghiz is very extraordinary, and very often 
my guide would discern objects with the naked eye which 1 could 
bare-hp distinguish with my glasses. His knowledge of locality was 
also very remarkable, for sometimes when no track could be seen 
he would get off his horse and search for flowers or grass, and, if he 
could find any, would be able to judge by their appearance as to 
the district in which we were. 

. The Book of Nature was as familiar to this semi-savage Kirghiz 
as the Koran to his moullah; and, presently pointing to a chain of 
mountains, which, rearing themselves up before us, extended east 
and west of our path, he observed that Kalenderhana was just be- 
hind them, and, making a sound suggestive of a kiss, informed me 
that he should not be sorry to see his wife. 

The scenery became more striking as we approached this mount- 
ain barrier. Picturesque crags and large masses of sparkling quartz 
dazzled the eve with their glinting. Broken patches of frozen snow 
at intervals carpeted the sandy soil, and formed a mirror which 
flashed beneath the midday sun. Many streaks down the rugged 
sides of the heights around us showed where the rain, pouring down 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



119 



on their crests in the early spring, diverged in foaming torrents. 
Here, dashing with irresistible force through the narrow pass, they 
would furrow a road before them; there, emerging from the gradu- 
ally winding defile, they would rush in a hundred different channels 
to swell the volume of the mighty Oxus. 

This mountainous ridge was called by the guide Kazan-Tor, and 
the pass which gives access to the fertile plains we were gradually 
approaching would, prove a formidable obstacle to an invading 
column if the defenders were worth their salt. However, this chain 
of hills does not extend very tar in an easterly direction. It conies 
to an abrupt termination about twenty-five miles from the track 
upon which Iwas traveling, and the flank can be easily turned. The 
defile is about a quarter of a mile broad and about seven miles long, 
the ground having a strongly marked auriferous nature; while, 
from the appearance of some of the rocks, 1 should say that a search 
for copper would not prove unremunerative to an engineer or his em- 
ployers. 

We emerged upon a vast plain, which was intersected by a 
quantity of water-courses, or canals. These, springing from the 
Amu Darya, are employed by the inhabitants of the adjacent villages 
for irrigating their fields during the summer. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Presently we came upon some kibitkas, which were evidently 
constructed as a permanency. Wide dilches were dug around them, 
and high wattled palisades, which in every instance encircled the 
dwellings, showed us that, the inmates feared attack. Indeed, from 
this spot until we crossed the Oxus, each village was fortified in 
some such manner. Formerly the Kirghiz and Toorkomans lived in 
a continual state of war, the Kirghiz making marauding expeditions 
into their neighbors' territory, and carrying oft horses and cattle; 
while their foe, in his turn, frequently crossed the Oxus in armed 
bands of from fifty to sixty horsemen, plundered the Kirghiz 
kibitkas, and carried away the spoil. At the present moment, from 
Russian sources we only hear of the marauding disposition of the 
Toorkomans, and of the peaceful disposition of the Kirghiz; the 
Toorkoman raids being purposely exaggerated, in the same way as 
previously the Khivans were maligned, in order to give an excuse 
for an advance upon Merve. The fact is, that if the Kirghiz carry- 
off a Toorkoman's cattle no one hears of it; but if, on the contrary, 
the latter crosses the Oxus by way of retaliation, this is made the 
subject for a tirade of abuse. Indeed, if we were to believe some 
Russian statements, the Khivans ha^e always been the aggressors; 
and 'it is not generally known that the first' attack on this~Central 
Asian khanate was made by the subjects of the Tzar. 

This occurred at the end of the sixteenth century. A band of 
Cossacks happened to capture some Persian merchants, and through 
them learned of the existence of the rich territory of Khiva. Their 
cupidity was excited, and they resolved to make a raid in that direc- 
tion. The Cossacks rode across the Kirghiz steppe in light march- 
ing order, without having any baggage with them save that which 



120 



A RIDE TO KHIYA. 



could be carried on their saddles, when, after crossing the Oxus, 
they attacked the Khivan town Urgent ch. The Khan and his forces 
were absent. Little resistance was made, and the town was de- 
stroyed, the Cossacks carrying oft a thousand women, besides many 
carts laden with a rich booty." This exlra baggage proved too much 
for them. They were overtaken and surrounded by the Khivans. 
The Russians had no water, but they fought for several days, quench- 
ing their thirst with the blood of the slain. Human nature, how- 
ever, has its limits, and finally, when nearly all the Cossacks had 
been killed, the remainder surrendered, and were brought back 
prisoners to the Khan. 

The Cossacks did not recover very rapidly from this serious blow; 
but after a time they once more marched upon Khiva in a band of 
five hundred strong, under the command of Atoman Necbae. The 
raid was made successfully; but when returning with their spoil, 
the Cossacks weie overtaken by their pursuers and slain to a man. 

A third campaign ended still more unfavorably. The Cossacks 
lo^t their way, and, instead of reaching Khiva, found themselves by 
the shores of the Sea of Aral. Tiie winter came on; frosts com- 
menced, storms raged, and provisions were exhausted. At first the 
Cossacks killed some ot their number, and lived upon the dead 
bodies; but at length they went to the Khivans, and voluntarily gave 
themselves up into slavery. 

For the fourth time the Russians made war upon Khiva in the 
reign t>f Peter the Great. This monarch was fully aware ot the ad- 
vantages to be gained by thoroughly subjecting this country. The 
report that there was auriferous sand in the River Amu, and that 
the Khivans purposely concealed this circumstance for fear of 
brino-ing the Russians to their country, also attracted the Tzar's at- 
tention, and he determined to open out mercantile relations with 
India via Khiva. 

Prince Bekovitch Tcherkassky was given the command ot the 
expedition. Careful preparations had to be made previous to an ad- 
vance. Points were selected by the shores of the Caspian, and forts 
built at Cape Trjuk Karagan, and at the entrance to the Alexander 
and Balkan bays, (forts St. George, Alexander, and Krasnovodsk*), 
so as to maintain communications with Astrakhan. After securing 
his base in this manner on the eastern shore r>f the Caspian, Prince 
Bekovitch advanced across the Ust Urt into Khivan territory. 

His detachment consisted of two companies of mounted infantry, 
one dragoon regiment, 2,500 Cossacks, with some Tartars and Kal- 
mucks, in all 13,300 men, and six guns. Three months' provisions 
were carried on camels and in carfs drawn by horses. Bekovitch, 
after a two months' march, halted on the banks of the Oxus. He 
had then traversed nine hundred miles of sandy steppe, in the hottest 
season of the year, and when the only water that could be obtained 
had to be procured from wells dug at each halting-place. The 
Russian prince was now attacked by the Khivans. He had. drawn up 
his forces so as to protect his rear by the river, while his flanks were 

* Krasnovodsk, by the latest accounts, is to be the commencement of a line 
of postal stations between the Caspian and the Khivan town, Kuni TJrgenj. 
The new road will greatly facilitate the transport of troops and supplies to 
Khiva. 



A RIDE TO KHITA. 



121 



defended by a barricade formed of baggage- wagons'. After a fight 
•which lasted tkiee days, the Khivans were repulsed. A truce was 
now declared, when the prince thinking himself secure, was so idi- 
otic as to divide his troops. The latter were at once attacked and cut 
to pieces by their enemy. 

Perovsky's expedition in 1S39, which proved such a disastrous 
failure, 1 have already mentioned; and not much more was heard of 
Khiva until the year 1859, when a large Russian force, avowedly 
for the purpose of reconnoitering, was dispatched to the east coast 
of the Caspian. 

The Toorkomans, who did not like this amicable survey of their 
country, attacked the expedition near Balkan Bay, and seized the 
Russian camel train and baggage. The commander was thus pre- 
vented making a map of the Balkan hills. However, he recom- 
mended the construction of a fort near Krasnovodsk Bay, under the 
pretext of opening out friendly relations with the Toorkomans. He 
then sailed to Ashourade and to Hassan Kuli Bay,* where he bom- 
barded a Toorkoman settlement, and took Chikishlar. 

The Russians commenced building a new fort at Krasnovodsk 
Bay in the Autumn of 1869. A station was formed in 1870 at Tash 
Aivat-Kala, one hundred and three miles from Krasnovodsk, while 
two military intermediate posts were also established, one on the 
shore of Michael Bay, at a place called Mikhailovsk, and another on 
the Aklam, at Mulia Kari. A connecting link of communication 
was thus formed with the head-quarters at Krasnovodsk. 

Chikishlarf was occupied in the month of November, 1871, and a 
fort erected there by Colonel 31arkosoff. Ashourade was Persian 
territory. However, this did not prevent its occupation by the Tzar's 
forces, and the latter date Persia's recognition of their right to this 
station from the day "when the late Shah came on board a Russian 
vessel, he having been told that in the Bay of Astrabad the water 
was not so rough as oft other parts of the coast. 

The Russians were now established at four points in Tcorkoman'ter- 
ritory; in the island of Ashourade; in the JVlaugyshlak Peninsula; 
by the Attrek; and in Krasnovodsk Bay. 

Everything was ready, and nothing wanted save some pretext for 
an advance upon Khiva,. A casus belli soon presented itself; but in 

* A correspondent of the Golos, w riting: in 1871 from Baku, after a visit to 
all the military positions on the east coast of the Caspian, observes that Has- 
san Kuli, Gomush Tete, and the localities thereabouts, are now Turkoxnania 
de jure, and not de facto, as I was assured, in spite of my knowledge of politi- 
cal geography, that Persia begins now at Attrek, and not at the Kara-Su. The 
Yamud Toorkomans, the owners of the country between the Attrek, and the 
Kara-Su, are also not aware of this; but. in theloftier considerations of inter- 
national rights, they are a people with whom it is not requisite to be on any 
ceremony. 

t v*enukof, in his military review, writing about Chikishlar, remarks, "That 
although the line of the east coast of the Caspian can be always easily defend- 
ed, and therefore does not require one strong local central power, yet that, for 
the purpose of saving time in the execution of given orders, and for the pur- 
pose of uniformity of administrative and other action, in the eyes of the Toork- 
omans it would be advisable to vest the coutrol of affairs on the east coast of 
the Caspian in one chief officer, w hose center of administration should be at 
Chikishlar. 



122 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



order to explain how matters were finally brought to a head, it will 

he necessary to return tor a moment to the year 1869. 

Among the nomad Kirghiz is a tiibe known as the Adayefs, and 
when fort Novo-Alexandrovsk was erected on the Mangyshlak Isth- 
mus, the Russian Government telt that it was strong enough to tax 
this people. The latter were in the habit of paying taxes to Khiva; 
but this did not avail them with the Tzar's officials, aud a forced 
contribution ot one ruble and fifty copecks was levied from each 
kibitka, or tent. This was in 1850; but in 1869 a fresh system was 
introduced, and the taxes extorted from the Adayefs were raised one 
hundred and fifty per cent. 

This gave rise to great dissatisfaction, and in March, 1870, hos 
tilities commenced between the Adayefs and the Russians, when the 
Khan ot Khiva backed up the people, whom he looked upon as his 
subjects. He had been alarmed at the occupation ot Krasnovodsk, 
and now finding that General Kauffmann was bent on war, dis- 
patched to him the following letter from Khiva: 

" From the beginning of the world up to the present time there has 
never been an instance of one sovereign, in order to reassure 
another, and for the well-being of the subjects of a foreign power, 
having erected a fort on the frontier, and having advanced his 
troops. Our sovereign desires that the White Tzar, following the 
example of his forefathers, should not permit himself to be led away 
by the greatness of the empire with which God has intrusted him, 
and should not seek to gain possession of the lands of other poweis, 
which is opposed to the custom of great sovereigns. 

" If, on the contrary, trusting to the strength of his army, he desires 
to make war with us, let him remember that before the Creator of 
heaven aud earth, before the great Judge of all earthly judges, all 
are equal — the strong and weak alike. To whom He will, to him 
He gives the victory. No one can succeed against the will and pre- 
destination of the All-Highest." 

In the meantime the Adayefs, who, at the outset of their quarrel 
with the Russians, had destroyed a convoy and attacked Fort Alex- 
androvsk, had been completely overcome by a detachment of troops 
dispatched from the Caucasus, and some Cossacks, who had been 
taken prisoners by the Kirghiz and brought to Khiva, were detained 
there by the Kuan. 

In the beginning of 1872 the latter sent two embassies, one to the 
Viceroy of the Caucasus, and the other to the Emperor. In his let- 
ter to tne Viceroy the Khan wrote as follows: 

" Harmony has existed between the two Governments. How, then, 
has it happened that during the last year your troops have landed 
at Cheleken, on the shores of tlie Bay of Khaurism, under the pre- 
text of commercial objects, and that recently a small detachment of 
these troops was advancing toward the Sary Kamysh which has ot 
old belonged to us, but retired before reaching that point ? Besides 
this, Russian troops have advanced from Tashkent and Ak Musjid 
(Perovsky) as far as the well of Min Bulak, which is situated within 
our hereditary domiuions. 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



" We are ignorant whether the Grand Duke (the Viceroy) knows of 
these proceedings 01 not. Meanwnile, on our side no such a3i ion has 
been taken as could violate friendly relations with you. Some Kirg- 
hiz had seized tour or five of your people, but we took charge of 
them, and kept them in safety near ourselves. If you wish to main- 
tain friendly relations with us, then conclude such conditions as 
will leave each of us satisfied with our former frontiers, and we will 
restore to you all your captives; but if these captives are made to 
serve simply as a pretext for svai, of which the real object is the ex- 
tension of your territories, the will of the powerful and holy One 
must determine what shall happen— a will which can be avoided by 
none." 

The embassy was not allowed to go to St. Peteisbrrg, and the en- 
voys were informed that no communications would be held with 
them until the prisoneis had been released. The Khan now dis- 
patched a mission to India; but the authorities there, probably put- 
ting credence in the statement so often made by Russian officials 
that theie was no wish to annex any of the Khan's territory, de- 
clined giving him assistance, and advised that sovereign to restore 
the Russian prisoners, and to make peace with the Russian Govern- 
ment. 

The Russian Chancellor a short time afterward heard of this re- 
f asal to aid Khiva, and he remarked that this was in perfect har- 
mony with the understanding which existed between the Imperial 
Government and that of her Majesty, and. that it had given him 
great pleasure. It must undoubtedly have been highly pleasing to 
him, for now he knew that England had no intention to assist the 
Khan, and that the latter must in consequence unfailingly succumb 
to the forces under Kauffmann's orders. 

The authorities in Great Britain were quite tranquilized as to any 
intention on the part ol the Government of St. Petersburg to -annex 
Khiva. All their doubte on this subject had been put at rest by a 
statement made to Lord Granville by Count Schouvaloff on the 8th 
of January, 1873, when the words used by the latter were to this 
effect: 

'* With regard to the expedition to Khiva, it was true that it was 
decided upon for next spring. To give an idea of its character, it 
was sufficient to say that it would consist oifour and a half battal- 
ions. Its object was to punish acts of brigandage, to recover fifty 
Russian prisoners, and to teach the Knan that such conduct on his 
part could not be continued with the impunity in which the modera- 
tion of Russia had led him to believe. Not only was it far from the 
intention of the Emperor to take possession of Khiva, but positive 
orders had been prepared to prevent it, and directions given that 
the conditions imposed should be such as could not in any way lead 
to a prolonged occupancy of Khiva." 

Count Schouvaloff repeated the surprise which the Emperor, en- 
tertaining such sentiments, felt at the uneasiness which, it was said, 
existed in England on the subject; and he gave Lord Granville 
npst decided assurance that be might give positive assurances to 
Parliament on this matter. 

The total force employed by General KauSmann in his Khivan 



124 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



expedition consisted of fifty-three companies of infantry, twenty-five 
sotnias* of Cossacks, fifty-four guns, six mortars, two mitrailleuses, 
five rocket divisions, 19,200 camels, with a complement of about 
14.000 men. Kussian battalions appear to be of a very expensive 
character if fifty- three companies of infantry can be comprised in 
four and a half battalions. The strength laid down for a battalion 
is four companies of the line and one company of rifles. The war 
establishment of a battalion comprises nine hundred rank and file, 
of whom sixty men are in reserve. Indeed, it would appear that the 
Kussian commander-in chief had borrowed a leaf out of the book of 
the sick patient, who, when desired by his doctor to limit himself to 
three glasses of wine a day, had some glasses constructed which 
would contain a bottle, and thus kept within the exact letter of his 
promise to the medical gentleman. 

The troops were divided into different columns, which in their 
turn were divided into detachments— the Tashkent column, consist- 
ing of two detachments; of the Ojizzah, which marched from Tash-. 
kent, and the Kasaliusk from Fort Number One, and, finally, the 
Orenburg, Krashnovodsk, and Kenderli columns, which were to 
march respectively from Embinsk along the western shores of the 
Sea of Aral, from Krasnovodsk, Chikishlar, and from the Bay of 
Kenderli to the Aibougir lake, traversing the dreary wastes of the 
Ust Urt. 

It seems strange that the water communication from Kasala by 
the Syr Darya, Sea of Aral, and Oxus was not made use of during 
the invasion. Some vessels belonging to the Arab fleet had sailed up 
the Oxus as far as Kumrrad, and there was nothing to prevent the 
Russians attacking Khiva by water. This, indeed, was strongly 
urged upon Kauflmann. But the General is reported to have said 
that it must be a land expedition, as otherwise the sailors would 
share the rewards, and that he wished all the decorations and honors 
to fall to the lot of the army. Kauffmann was of opinion that there 
ought to be only two detachments of troops %ent against the khanate 
— one formed of troops from the army of the Caucasus, which 
should march from Krasnovodsk to Khiva, and the other to march 
from Tashkent and under his personal command. 

Kauffmann's wishes in this respect were disregarded. Kryjinovsky, 
the Governor-general of Orenburg, urged upon the Government the 
dangers of such a plan, and he observed that, in the event of no 
troops being dispatched from Orenburg, the Khivans and Toorkomans 
might advance on the Kirghiz steppes, intercept communications on 
the postal road from Orsk to Tashkent, and possibly alarm the Ural 
and Orenburg districts. 

The troops from Orenburg had no difficulty in marching along the 
west coa; t of the Sea, of Aral to Kungrad, where they were joined by 
the Kenderli detachment. Not being able to hear anything of Gen- 
eral Kauffmann's column, they advanced upon Khiva, and captured 
the gate of that city. Intelligence was now received from Kauflmann 
that he had also arrived before Khiva, and that the city was about to 
surrender. However, the fire continuing, General Verevkin, who 
commanded the Orenburg column, took the city and citadel. This 

* A sotnia of Cossacks is about 150 horsemen. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



125 



had scarcely been completed when the news was brought that 
Kauffmann had accepted the capitulation offered him by the chief 
inhabitants of the city, and that he was entering Khiva from an- 
other gate. The Khan had fled. However, after two days he re- 
turned, and was reinstated in his post, but was subjected to a coun- 
cil, or divan, formed for the most part of Russian officers. 

The expedition fiom Krasnovodsk, under Colonel Markosofl, 
proved a complete failure, owing to the want of water; and, after 
burying his cannon in the sand, the colonel ordered bis troops to 
retire. The columns from the Caspian and Tashkent were pract ical- 
ly of no use. The expedition from Orenburg, which had been dis- 
patched solely at the instigation of General Kryjinovsky, and with 
the reluctant consent of General Kauffmana, had beaten the enemy 
and taken Khiva. 

A war indemnity of 2,200, 0C0 rubles was imposed upon the Khi- 
van sovereign. The news of his subjection spread like wild-fire all 
over Central Asia, and Russian influence became paramount in the 
khanates. 

The so-called insolence of the Khan had been punished, his capi- 
tal had been taken, he himself was in the hands of his toe. x?o sov- 
ereign's humiliation could have been more complete, and Kauffmann 
had compelled him to drain the bitter cup to its dregs. 

The object of the expedition was obtained, and now alt there re- 
mained to do was to fulfill the promise of the Emperor, given to the 
English Government by Count Schouvalcff, Eussian embassador in 
London. However, this was not done; there had been a misunder- 
standing, it was said, and the construction of a Russian fort was at 
once commenced on Khivan territory. 

Shortly before this, Prince Gortschakoff, writing to Kauffmann 
about the conditions of a treaty withKokan, made use of the follow- 
ing language, which M. Terentyef is so kind as to publish to the 
world in his work on England and Russia in the East: 

" You express your conviction, produced by experience, that in 
an intercourse with Asiatics the grand secret of success consists in 
unchanging veracity and firmness, combined with a decided attitude 
of peace. 1, too, am the more firmly convinced of the correctness of 
this view since it has invariably served as my guide in my political 
action and intercourse both in the East and West." 

It is a pity that M. Terentyef's work is not translated into the 
Tartar language, as it would be refreshing to the Khan of Khiva to 
read of such a noble expression of feeling on the part of one of his 
foes. Fortunately the work has been translated into English, and 
it will doubtless gratify the minds of those members in the House of 
Commons who were under the impression that no part of Khn an 
territory was to be annexed to Russia. _ 

A proportion of the war indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles was imposed 
upon a tribe of Toorkomans who had fought against the expedition 
from Orenburg. They were nominally Khivan subjects, and for a 
month after the conquest of Khiva they had been on friendly terms 
with the conquering officers; indeed, some Russian officers who had 
been sent out tor the purpose of surveying, had remained for days 
and nights together in the Toorkoman encampment. 



126 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



There was no reason to believe that the ToorkomaDS would break 
the truce. However, it would not do for the Tashkent column to re- 
turn home without a little bloodshed. The glory of the war had 
been confined to the columns from the Caucasus and Orenburg, and 
the officers from Tashkent had done nothing to merit promotion. 

General Kauffman now sent lor the elders ot the tribe, and de- 
clared that a part of the indemnity must be paid by them within a 
fortnight, and the remainder later on. At the same time the General 
detained some of the elders as hostages until such time as the first 
installnient of the indemnity had been paid into the Russian treasury. 
But the Russian commander-in-chief was in a hurry, and instead of 
waiting the appointed time, he sent out a large detachment under 
General Golovatcheff to ascertain what chance there was of the pay- 
ment being made. 

This general, in order to discover the intentions of the Toorkomans, 
at once attacked the villages and encampments, burned their houses, 
destroyed some wagons laden with household stores, and devastated 
the whole district. If the Toorkomans had been treated differently, 
they might have given a civil answer to the Russian General. But 
they are poor barbarous creatures, utterly unacquainted with that 
European civilization which characterizes Russian troops, and they 
were so foolish as to be exceedingly angry. Indeed, later on, these 
wretched and ignorant Toorkomans became utterly lost to all feeling 
ot honor, and actually darted to attack General Golovatcheff 's camp 
at Ulyall; but they had no chance against the breech-loaders of their 
foes, and were repulsed w r ith great slaughter. 

The Toorkomans now abandoned the district. They were disin- 
clined to listen to any terms of peace w T hich might subsequently 
be offered them. However, the}' sent Golovatcheff the following 
message : 

" We know how to respect peace, and shall keep it if you will have 
peace with us; but if you will not have it, we shall fight, and w r e 
can fight well." 

According to General Kryjinovsky, the Governor-general of Oren- 
burg, the attack on the Toorkomans was entirely uncalled for, and 
likely to lead to serious results. "It will now be necessary," he 
said, " for us to send expeditions against the Toorkomans for many 
years to come. Their country will be a second Caucasus, and in the 
end we shall be obliged to take them, which will undoubtedly lead 
to complications with England." 

This remark of General Kryjinovsky has every chance of being 
realized. Colonel Ivanoff, the commandant at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 
already has had occasion to attack some bands of nomad Toorkomans. 
On one occasion he made prisoners of two of these Arabs of the 
steppes. They had pillaged, it was said, some Russian Kirghiz. In 
consequence of tnis, the captive Toorkomans were tried by court- 
martial and sentenced to death. The sentence was shortly afterward 
put into execution. 

The Toorkomans, on their side, have captured a Russian soldier. 
They refuse to surrender him until such time as they receive a sum 
of money for the widows of their two fellow-countrymen. The man 
Jias not been tried by court-martial by the Toorkomans, probably on 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



127 



account of their ignorance of military law. When they become more 
civilized, they will doubtless follow the example set them by their 
Christian foe. 

On the 24th of August, 1873, a treaty of peace, which had been 
first of all approved bv the Emperor, was made with Khiva. The 
khanate was reduced to a state of complete vassaldom. The delta 
and right bank or the Oxus were ceded to Russia. The Oxus was 
closed to all save Russian and Khivan vessels; Russian merchants 
were allowed perfect freedom of commerce in the khanate, with liber- 
ty io purchase and hold piopertj ; a Russian fortress was to be built 
four miles south of Shurahan, and in a garden belonging to an 
uncle of the Khan; while all the territory situated between the for- 
mer Bokharo-Khivan frontier, the right bank of the Amu Durya, 
from Gugertli to Meshekly, and the line passing from Meshekly to 
the point of junction of the former Bohkaro-Khivan frontier with 
the frontier of the Russian Empire, w T as taken from Khiva and 
annexed to the dominions of the Emir of Bokhara. 

A lifelong feud between Khiva and Bokhara will inevitably fol- 
low this redistribution of soil. If, after the Franco-Prussian war, 
the Germans, instead of taking Alsace and Lorraine for themselves, 
had forced Belgium to accept these provinces, the French could not 
have been expected to have looked with friendly eyes upon the new 
proprietors, and a spark would have been struck, certain at some fut- 
ure period to burst out into flame. This will happen between Bo- 
khara and Khiva. It will not be difficult to get some one to stir the 
fire, and the consequence will be the absolute incorporation of Bo- 
khara and Khiva with the Russian Empire. 



CHAPTER XXV111. 

Some men and women running out of one of the kibitkas, and 
warmly greeting the guide, announced to me that we had reached 
his home at Kalenderhana. In a short time 1 found myself seated 
on a rus-, an object of curiosity to many of the inhabitants, who had 
never before seen a man dressed in European costume. Every part 
of my attire was in turn inspected and commented upon, the women 
coming forward and feeling the texture of my coat and trousers, the 
large buttons being a source of great admiration. 

The hostess was clad in a flowing white dressing-gown, with a 
turban of the same color, folded many times around her small head. 
For a Kirghiz, she was decidedly good-looking, and well w^orth the 
hundred sheep her lord and master had paid for her. She was de- 
lighted at his arrival, and two ruddy-faced little children were seated 
upon their father's knee, and playing with his beard and mustache. 
The brother-in-law, a short, hump-backed fellow, who had been in- 
formed that 1 wished to purchase a horse, was most assiduous in his 
attentions. He seized a pillow which an aged relative, his grand- 
father, had secured for his own accommodation, and dragged it from 
beneath his elderly relative; then, pushing it behind my back, he 
patted me on the shoulder, and said that he had heard I wanted a 
horse. Well, he had the most beautiful of the equine race; it had 
performed extraordinary feats, and was the wonder of all the village, 



128 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



"We would look at it, and then I should see. Yes, what I should 
see! and, pouring me out some tea, he absolutely put four lumps of 
sugar in my glass, to the astonishment of the^othei inmates, who 
weie aghast at such reckless extravagance. 1 replied, in a careless 
manner, that his horse was doubtless a beautiful one, but that at 
Petro there were lovely animals. If we went to the fort, 1 should 
very likely buy one there; hut if we were not to go to Petro, but to 
Khiva, that then 1 would purchase his animal, and pay for it in the 
Khan's capital. This having been duly interpreted by Nazar, an 
animated conversation took place among the members of the family, 
the guide being somewhat reluctant, and his brother in law and other 
relatives eager to contest all his arguments. He had already brought 
me off the route to Petro; he would very likeby get punished for 
that. Why not go to Khiva? And JNazar suggested that then we 
would not visit the fort at all, but would continue our journey to 
Bokhara. 

I now inquired if we could procure some camels to take us as far 
as that citv. This was a fortunate remark, as it appeared that an- 
other Of the guide's relatives had camels for hire; and, eager that 1 
should employ his animals, he exhausted all his eloquence upon my 
follower to persuade him to go to Bokhara. The domestic pressure 
put upon the guide was too much for him. Turning to INazar, he 
agreed to go on with us to Bokhara, where he said that we could 
hire fresh camels and return to Kasala via Samarcaud and Tashkent, 
thus avoiding altogether Port Petro- Alexandrovsk. 

"My faithful follower now whispered in my ear, " \¥e are to have 
a great feast to-night. The guide's brother-in-law has a, horse wfiich 
is not very well. The animal is to be killed directly, and we are to 
eat him." Later on, an enormous caldron was suspended from a 
tripod across the fire, a heap of fagots was piled upon the embers, 
and a dense smoke filled the tent. Large pieces of the unfortunate 
quadruped were now thrown into the pot by the guide's wife, who 
officiated as cook, the host and the rest of the party superintending 
the operations with the greatest interest. 

** Will there be anything else to eat?" 1 inquired. 

" No," was the answer of my surprised Tartar. " What more 
would you have? We rnisrkt eat two sheep at a time; but a horse — 
no. There will, perhaps, be enough left for breakfast, praise be to 
God tor his bounty;" and the little man, opening his mouth from 
ear to ear, licked his lips in anticipation of the banquet. 

A piece of raw cotton floating in some greasy substance, Which 
was contained in a large iron ladle, threw a lurid light over the red 
faces of the hungry Kirghiz, enger to commence the banquet. 

The dark smoke from" the rude lamp was curling itself in spiral 
columns amidst the dense gray clouds which ascended from the 
burning pile. From time to time some relative of the family, lift- 
ing up the thick cloth that served as a door, entered the dwelling. 
The sudden draft would then upheave the thick atmosphere, and, 
forcing it through, the aperture, reveal the boundless canopy of the 
heavens, the sky studded with a million gems, while the queen of 
night, like a globe-of metallic silver, cast \qx pale shadow through 
the half-raised rug or curtain. 

My hostess was rocking a recently born child with one hand, and 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



129 



stirring some rice, which was boiling in an adjacent kettle, with the 
other. My guide and Tartar servant were washing their hands and 
feet m the snow at the threshold. The brother-in-law was for the 
hundredth time inlorming me that his horse was a horse, and that ail 
the rest of the equine race were mules in comparison, when the 
woman announced that the meat was done to a turn, and that all 
things were ready for the feast. 

A portion of the steed and some rice were given to me in a slop- 
basin. The rest of the party, calling upon Allah to bless the enter- 
tainment, squatted round the caldron, and thrust their hands into 
its seething contents, which speedily vanished down their throats. A 
conjurer, or fire- king, at a village fair, might have swallowed swords 
or flames, pokers or daggers, but he would have had no chance what- 
ever if pitted to eat horse against my guide's brother-in-law. 1 
thought, when for the second time the caldron had been emptied 
that this would have sufficed. But no, for each man strove to outdo 
his neighbor; belts and broad sashes were loosed from around the 
loins; and Nazar, who had made up his mind that he ought to eat 
tor his master as well as himself, was actually swelling before my 
eyes, and becoming wheezy in his utterances. 

Overeating would seem to paralyze a man 's speech almost as much, 
as excess in alcohol; and the hoarse, breathed-out tones of t>e Kirg- 
hiz men jarred on the ear in comparison with the clear voices of the 
females, who, not daring to eat at the same time as their loras and 
masters, stood round and helped them to the most savorv pieces. 

At times the guide by way of honoring me in the person of Nazar, 
would lake a greasy piece of meat from the iron kettle, and, holding 
the luscious morsel up at arm's length, so that all might perceive his 
intention, would slowly inseit it in Nazar's mouth; the latter gulp- 
ing down the half -raw flesh without any attempt at mastication, in 
order to show how highly he appreciated the compliment. 

1 hoped that this would wind up the entertainment, but the feasters 
were far from having any such intention ; and trie same process 
of gorging going on steadily throughout the night and early morning- 
announced to me that my follower would very likely be wrong in 
his conjecture, and that ere breakfast-time all the horse would have 
disappeared. 

Long, narrow, wooden cars, each with high svheels, were all the 
morning bringing grass into the village for the horses of tne inhab- 
itants. A few trees planted here and there, the first that we had 
seen since leaving Kasala, afforded a pleasing change to the vision, 
tired of gazing over snow and lotv brushwood, while a large supply 
of hay in an inclosure hard by the kibilka showed that my guide 
had armed himself against the danger of a sudden thaw. 

Tie now informed me that .1 could not go to the town of Khiva 
without first having the Khan's permission, and said that a letter 
must be written to that sovereign and sent before us, asking his leave 
for my followers and self to enter the city. This piece of informa- 
tion rather startled me. I had been under the impression that all 1 
had to do was to ride to the town, encamp outside the walls, ar)d 
ride in each day so as to inspect everything worth seeing. How 
ever, according to the guide, not even this could be done without 
the Khan's permission. 



130 



A RIDE TO KHTTA. 



I was puzzled, not knowing in what language to address him. 
My servant could not write in Tartar, and 1 was afraid that if i dis- 
patched a letter written in Arabic, some unintentional omission of 
the due amount of courteous expressions which one is bound to use 
when writing to a sovereign might offend this Khivan potentate. 

Nazar at last proposed that 1 should inquire for some moullah 
who could write a letter in the Tartar language. On asking the 
guide, he at once sent for a learned man who, he said, could write 
beautiful things, so soft and sweet that they w^ere like the sounds of 
sheep bleating in the distance. 

Presently the scribe arrived. He was a tall, angular-looking man, 
one shoulder being much higher than the other, while his dressing- 
gown bore signs of its having been originally made for a much 
shorter individual than himself. His lorn? arms protruded through 
the sleeves, showing several inches of shirtless skin. He entered the 
kibitka with an air ot great importance, while the party rose at his 
approach, much awed at the arrival of a person who had as much 
there, as the guide observed, poin .tin*; to his own head, as was in the 
united occiputs of all the people in the village. 

The moullah carried an inkstand made of bullock's horn; the ink 
was of the thickest possible description, while a wooden stopper at 
each end of the horn formed the top and bottom of the inkstand. 
He unfolded a sheet of paper, and, squatting down by my side, he 
pulled out one of the plugs from the horn bottle, at the same time 
producing a long style made of cane, which served him in lieu of a 
pen. 

A dead silence reigned around; all the inmates of the kibitka were 
appalled by the preparations of the Moullah. Writing a letter was 
no evervday occurrence in that village; and the man who was able 
to make a piece of paper speak— the common definition of writing 
amidst savage nations— was looked upon as a prodigy of learning. 

The guide, however, did not appear so awed as the rest of his rel- 
atives. Had'he not been to Kasala and seen the clerKs write? 
" Why, some of the Russian soldiers could do as much!" and say- 
ing this in a muttered tone to Nazar, he undid a small parcel, and 
taking out some coarse snuff, put a quantity on the back of his 
hand, which he snuffed up his nostrils with an air of the greatest 
delectation. 

" What shall I say?" inquired the moullah. "What is your 
tchin [rank]?" 

" No particular rank." 1 observed. " You can leave that out." 
" No," said the moullah; " we must have some tchin. Are .you 
a polkovnik [a colonel]?" 

" No, only a kapitan [captain]." 

The moullah here picked his ear with his pen, and, turning to 
Naza, said something. 
" What is it?" 1 inquired. 

" Why, kapitan will not do. They look down upon kapitans at 
Khiva. The word is like the Tartar word * kabtau,' and gives no 
idea o'f rank to a Khivan. E&etter say polkovnik." 

In the meantime the moullah had written a most flowery epistle. 
Nazar said it was beautiful, and all tiie rest of the party greatly ad- 
mired the composition. However, the word polkovnik was still 



A RIDE TO KHITA. 



131 



inserted, and the moullah was so pleased with the letter that he 
would not erase the expression. Giving- the fellow some silver, 1 
determined to write to the Khan myself, and in the Russian 
language, as 1 had learned from the guide that there were two or 
thiee Tartars in the city who acted as interpreters. 1 wrote as 
follows: 

" An English gentleman who is traveling through Central Asia 
requests the permission of his Majesty the Khan, to visit his cele- 
brated capital." 

" That will not do," said' Xazar, dolefully; : ' there is no tchin. 
^hy do not you call yourself polkovnik? We shall not be received 
with due importance." And the little man sat down on the carpet 
with an indignant air, as if to say, " See how you have humbled 
me!" 

A young fellow was found to go forward with the missive, and it 
was ai ranged that he should start at once with the letter, while the 
caravan and myself woald follow oh later in the day. 

In the meantime the horse had been sent for. Presently he 
at rived, escorted by the whole village, everybody being eager to 
sing his praises safe those who had animals of their own for sale. 
One old man sought to attract my attention by shaking his head 
violently and frowning at the horse when he thought that his owner 
was not looking; but the aged gentleman assumed the most pleasant 
of smiles should any one save myself catch his eye. 

" He has a beast of his own for sale, "said Jsazar. " Look there," 
and he pointed to a brute which was lame all round, and which 
looked only fit for the knacker's yard. Xeither of the animals 
would suit, the one belonging to the guide's brother-in-law being 
blind in one eye. This the unblushing Kirghiz said was of no con- 
sequence at all, for in his opinion one eye was just as good as two; 
however, he remarked that if we would continue our journey to an- 
other kibitka, about five versts' distance, he could then show me 
some horses with two eyes. 

'* Yes, with two eyes," said all the rest of the party, gravely wag- 
ging their heads, as if such a complement of vision in one horse 
were a most remarkable fact in natural history. Our road now lay 
south-west, and in the direction of the town of Oogentch, which is 
distant about twenty-three versts from Kalenderhana. The country 
appeared to be highly cultivated, canals innumerable cutting the 
fields at right angles to each other, and arranged so as to supply the 
district with water from the Oxus. Corn is grown in great abun- 
dance in this neighborhood, and also jougouroo. a species of grain 
which the Kirghiz and Khivans give their horses instead of barley. 

Presently we came to another aul, which was also the property of 
the guide's brother-in-law. 1 had begun to hate that man even more 
than Weller senior could have hated his mother-in-law. I did not 
want to buy any of the fellow's horses; 1 felt convinced that if he 
were to sell me one it would be a screw or have some defect which 1 
should only discover after the purchase was completed. But there 
was no help for it. It was one of those disagreeable things which 
had to bp done, that is to say, if 1 wished to see Khiva; and the 
guide had already shown a little impatience at my not bavins: 
bought the one-eyed brute shown me at the last kibitka. 



132 



A BIDE TO KHIVA. 



This time a gray horse was brought out for inspection. The lad 
who rode him, cracking his whip, rode straight at a ditch about ten 
feet wide, and got his animal over all right. The animal had two 
eves, which was also a consideration, so 1 said that 1 would buy 
him, and pay for my purchase in Khiva. But no: this proposal did 
not meet the brother-in-law's approval. He knit his brows, and 
remarked to Kazar that 1 might be honest or 1 might be a rogue, 
4< God only knew." It 1 took the horse, why, perhaps the money 
would not be sent back, and he would lose the animal. People had 
stolen horses before, and would steal them again. 

1 here became a little indignant, and informed him that horse- 
stealing was not such a common occurrence in my country as in 
his, and that if 1 wished to steal a horse 1 should not steal a useless 
brute like the one 1 was about to purchase; that the guide knew 
who 1 was, and that if 1 might have the animal the money should 
he paid in Khiva. This the brother-in-law would not hear of for a 
moment, apparently tearing that if the mongy once came into the 
possession of the guide there was little chance of the latter returning 
it to him. Finally matters w T ere compromised, 1 agreeing to pay 
half the amount down and send the other half back with the mes- 
senger who had been dispatched with my letter to the Khan. A. 
saddle and bridle were also brought, and iMazar, descending from 
his huge camel, mounted the new purchase. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Now we ciossed a little stream about twenty yards wide, known 
by the name of the Oozek. It was said to be a tributary of the 
Oxus. A rough bridge made of cross-poles, sticks, and dried clay, 
afforded a means of crossing the water; for the banks were too steep 
to admit of a descent to the frozen surface. Finally, alter riding 
along a narrow path, planted on both sides with high reeds, we 
arrived upon the banks of the Amu Darya, and 1 gazed on that 
world-renowed stream, which in my boyish days it had been my 
dream to visit. 

The mighty Oxus— the Oxus of Alexander— lay at my feet, its 
banks bound together by a bridge of transparent ice, which, here at 
least half a mile broad, is the boundary line separating the subjects 
of the Khan from those who pay tribute to the Tzar. 

Each Khivan has to pay an annual tax of eleven rubles for his 
house to the Khan, while the inhabitants on the right bank of the 
river par four rubies per kibitka to the Russian authorities. The 
Khivans, however, who live in town pay no taxes, and the sovereign 
obtains the greater part of his revenues from crown lands, and from 
a duty of two and a half per cent, on the value of all goods which 
are imported or exported from his dominions. But this source of 
income is now curtailed, as the Khan has become a vassal of the 
Emperor, and Russian goods pay no duty whatever. 

Before crossing the Oxus we dismounted for a short time at a 
kibitka hard by the river. It was in former years a station-house 
when; custom duties were levied on all goods brought from Russia. 
A few Khivans were warming their hands over a wood five; they 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



133 



had come from Oogentch, and were going to trade in Shurahan, a 
town near Petro-Alexandrovsk, and which formerly belonged to 
the Khan, but has now been seized by the .Russians. The merchants 
were fine-looking fellows, with a very different type of counte- 
nance from the Tartars and Kirghiz, the dark complexion and large 
eyes with slightly Jewish nose of the Khivans being the very oppo- 
site to the broad, barge-shaped faces, ruddy cheeks, and little eyes 
of the Tartars. 

One of the traders recognized my fresh horse, and laughed as he 
pointed him out to his companions. 
" What is it?" 1 inquired of Kazar. 

'* They only say that he is a slug, and stumbles," observed the 
latter. " He nearly fell with me as we were coming here. Please 
God I do not break my neck before we*reach Khiva." 

We met quantities of arbas — two wheeled native carts — each of 
them drawn by one horse, as we rode across the river. A caravan, 
with camels belonging to the merchant in the station, was also 
traversing che frozen stream, which, as hard as a turnpike road, 
would have safely borne a battery of eighteen-pounders. The 
Khivans whom we met were, for the most part, dressed in long, 
red dressing-gowns, which reached down to their heels. These 
garments were made of a mixtuie of silk and cotton stuff, while they 
were thickly wadded with a species of quilting, to defend the 
wearers from the cold. Tall, black lambskin hats, taller even than 
a Footguardsman's bearskin, covered their heads, and each man 
carried, strapped to his saddle, a long single-barreled gun, with a, 
short, highly ornamented stock. The saddles, which were made of 
wood, were highly ornamented with gold, enamel, and turquois 
stones, while the bridles and steel appurtenances were clean and 
well appointed, in this respect affording a striking contrast to the 
slovenly equipment of the Tartars. The horses, too, were of a 
different breed, being much larger animals than those which i had 
seen on the steppes — the Khivan horses averaging about fifteen 
hands, while a good many which I met could not have been less 
than sixteen. 

Every man whom we encountered in our path never failed to 
salute us with the regular Arab salutation, ** Salam aaleikom," each 
of us in turn responding " Aaleikom salam;" and the varied tones 
of the wayfarers, as two large caravans passed each other, broke 
upon the ear almost like a response in the Litany, and carried my 
thoughts like a flash of lightning to very different scenes in my 
island home. 

The shades of night were falling; fast, and the guide, riding up, 
informed me that it would be better not to continue our march to 
Oogentch, but to halt at one of the many houses which were now 
to be met with at every turn. On my assenting to his proposal, he 
began to look about and to carefully inspect each abode which we 
passed. 

" What is he doing?" 1 inquired of Nazar. 

"He is trying to find a house where the owner is well off, and 
can give us plenty to eat," was the answer. " It is no good stop- 
ping for the night ac any beggar's house, and getting starved in 
consequence." 



134 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The guide's search was finally rewarded, and he pulled up by the 
side ot a large, substantial-looking, square building, built of dried 
clay. High wooden gates, studded with iron clampings, gave access 
to the dwelling. The guide rapped with his whip- handle against 
the door. An old man, bent nearly double with age, tottered out 
and asked our business. 

"We want your hospitality far the night," was the answer. 
Woen, as if this were the most natural thing in the world, the old 
fellow called out to his servants. Several of them ran forward, and, 
taking hold of my horse, aided me to dismount. 

It now turned out that what 1 had at first taken for a house was 
merely a square court-yard, consisting of four high walls, while the 
edifice itself, built of the same material as the inclosure, was erected 
inside the gates. A similar entrance, on a smaller scale, led to some 
stables, which, in their turn, gave access to that part of the build- 
ing which was inhabited by the family. Another door, however, 
on the opposite side ot the dwelling, led to the harem and more 
private apartments. My host gave an order that our horses and 
camels were to be well fed; and seeing that Nazar was in the act ot 
taking some barley from the sacks on our camels, made a sign for 
him to desist. 

" Have I not corn?" he remarked. " Are not you my guests?" 
and calling his servants, he desired them to look after our animals 
as if they were his own, 

I now found myself in a lofty room, which was reserved for great 
occasions, and for strangers like myself. One end of the apartment 
was covered with thick carpets; this was the place ot honor for the 
visitors. In the center ot the room, and where there were no rugs, 
was a small square hearth; this was filled with some charcoal em- 
bers, which were surrounded by a coping of about three inches in 
height, forming a species of fender. On the coping stood a copper 
vessel ot the same shape as many of the so-called Pompeian ewers, 
The vessel was richly chased, and constructed with a Jong, swan- 
like neck, so that the attendant might the more conveniently pour 
water over the hands of his master's guests before they commenced 
their repast. On the other side of the hearth there was a square 
hole about three feet deep. Two steps led down to it, the cavity 
being adorned with variegated tiles: this was the place for ablutions 
and thus arranged so as to keep the water from wetting the other 
parts of the apartment. 

Two narrow slits, each about two feet long by six inches wide, 
supplied the place of windows, and some open wooden trellis- work 
served as shutters, there being no glass, which is unknown in these 
parts. A few pegs in the wall on which we could hang our clothes 
supplied the place of a wardrobe, while the floor on the opposite 
side ot the room to that reserved for myself was covered with coarse 
cloth, and arranged for my retinue. 

Presently the host appeared. He bore in his hand a large earthen- 
ware dish full of rice and mutton, while his servants brought baskets 
filled with bread and hard-boiled eggs. Some milk was now pro- 
duced in an earthenware pitcher, and an enormous melon, whrch 
weighed quite tw T enty-five pounds, was carried in on a tray. All the 
dishes were placed at my feet, 1 being seated on the carpets, my* 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



135 



head supported by a richly colored silk cushion, which hud been 
specially brought by my entertainer. When all the viands had been 
thus set round me, the host, bowing to the ground, asked permis- 
sion to retire; then, walking backward a few steps, he sat down 
beside Nazar and the guide, who were gazing greedily upon the 
dishes— a striking change to the rough fare which we had lived 
upon tor the previous thirteen days. 

1 made a sign tor the owner of the house to approach and sit 
down by my side. With an air of great humility he complied with 
my request, the host on such occasions thinking it his duty to play 
the part of a servant to his guest. 

1 was much surprised at the size and flavor of the fruit, which 
was as fresh as on the day when it had been first picked. The cli- 
mate is so dry that all the Khivans have to rlo to preserve their 
melons is to hang them up in a temperature about two degrees above 
freezing-point; tor, should the frost, ever attack them, they lose all 
their flavor, and are useless for the table. The melons here have a 
fame which is celebrated all over the East. In former years they 
ay ere sent as far as Pekin tor the Emperor of China's table. Some 
of them attain forty pounds in weight, while the taste is so delicious 
that any one only accustomed to this fruit in Europe would scarcely 
recognize its relationship with the delicate and highly perfumed 
melons of Khiva. 

The host, when he got over his first diffidence, asked many ques- 
tions about the countries through which 1 had passed. He had the 
idea that to go to England bis" direction would be eastward from 
Khiva. Geographical knowledge in the Khan's dominions is very 
limited, and ilindostanand England are continually blended together 
under the same head. 

" So you have been thirteen days coming here from Kasala!" he 
exclaimed. " Praise be to God, who has allowed you to pass the 
desert in safety. Have you camels in your count up?" 

" No," I replied, " but we hate trains with iron wheels; they run 
upon long strips of iron, which are laid upon the ground for the 
wheels to roll over. " 

" Do the horses drag them very fast?" he asked. 

"We do not use live horses, but we make a horse of iron and fill 
him with water, and put fire under the water. The water boils, and 
turns into steam. The steam is very powerful; it rushes out of the 
horse's stomach, and turns large wheels which we give him instead 
of legs. The wheels revolve over the iron lines which we have pre- 
viously laid down, and the horse, which we call an engine, moves 
very quickly, dragging the arbas behind him; they are made of 
wood and iron, and have four wheels, not two, like your arbas in 
Khiva. The pace is so great that if your Khan had an iron horse 
and a railway he could go to Kasala in one day." 

" It is a miracle!" said the Khivan, as Nazar translated to him 
my little speech, my servant himself, who had never seen a railway, 
being a little incredulous as to the possibility of going live hundred 
versts in twenty-four hours. The guide, who sat on the opposite 
side of the fire, and was engaged in washing his feet over the cavity 
in the floor, now remarked that his brother-in-law had the best 
horses in the steppes, but that they could not do the distance in less 



136 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



than ten days; then how could a horse that was made of iron, and 
with wheels instead of legs, do it in one? If it could, we were con 
jurors, like the man he had once seen swallow a sword at Kasala. 

But who knew!" He had heard something about it at (he Fort, 
and he looked down contemptuously at the host's servants, who had 
assembled to gaze upon the new arrivals, and who were not traveled 
men like himself— a man who had been lo Kasala and back being 
considered a great traveler by the Khivans. 

Nazar, who did not want to be outdone in this way by the guide, 
now said, 

" They have got wires which speak in Russia. This 1 have seen 
myself; they are fastened to the top of high poles, and the wires ex- 
tend over miles of country. Any man in Sizeran who may wish to 
say something to a friend in Orenburg goes to one end of the wire; 
they turn a handle, and it makes a noise at the other end in Oren- 
burg; the moullah there understands what the wire says, and you 
can talk almost as fast as if you were actually speaking to your 
friend." 

" 1 have heard something about this," said our host. " There 
was a merchant who passed through here two years ago, and he 
told me about it. He said that there was one of these speaking- 
wires all the way from St. Petersburg to Tashkent, and that the 
White Tzar could" speak with his soldiers at Tashkent. He also said 
that they were going to make a speaking- wire to Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk, and that then we could know everything that was happen- 
ing at Kasala, and the price of cotton at Orenburg, without having 
to send a letter," 

The evening was far advanced, and the host, seeing that I was 
very drowsy, retired, when Nazar, the guide, and camel-driver, 
drawing the piece of cloth close to the embers, stretched themselves 
out at full length and soon fell asleep. 

On the morrow I was puzzled to know how to reward my host for 
his hospitality; however, on inquiring, 1 was informed that the cus- 
tom in those parts was for the guest to make a present to his host 
and that the best thing would be for me to give as mauy rubles as I 
thought just. This "is the system universally adopted through- 
out Central Asia in the places where there are no caravansaries or 
regular hostelries for the travelers. The Khivans are thus enabled 
to carry out the injunctions of their prophet to the letter, and to 
lavish hospitality on their guest, being sure that on his departure 
they will be well remunerated for their trouble, and for the expenses 
which they may have incurred. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

We were about four versts from Oogentch, the first town the trav- 
eler arrives at in Khivan territory, it going from Kalenderhana to 
the capital. There was a singular dearth of rising ground through- 
out the route; and if it had not been for the hundreds of dikes which 
traversed the country on every side, I should have imagined myself 
back upon the steppes. The snow, too, which had almost disap- 
peared as we passed through the defile in the Kazan-Tor of mount- 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



137 



ains, now lay thick and flaky on the ground; while the cold, in spite 
of the latitude to which we have attained, was as intense as ever. 

Large gardens inclosed by high walls were dotted about the land- 
scape, and square-built houses similar to the one in which 1 had 
passed the night became more frequeQt as we gradually neared the 
town. Indeed, if the Khivans had only been supplied with arms 
and a good leader, it would have been difficult for the Russians to 
have entered Oogentch, as every walled garden could have been 
turned into a citadel, and a few resolute men with breech-loaders 
might have caused great destruction in the invaders' ranks. 

The merchants in Oogentch seemed to do a considerable trade with 
the people of the surrounding districts, for the road was every now 
and then blocked up by hundreds of carts, all bringing corn and 
various kinds of grass to the market, while numerous" camels laden 
with goods from other parts of the khanate had been formed into 
one vast caravan, which extended for more than a mile, and was 
slowly filing into the town. The latter was defended by a ditch and 
high wall made of dried clay, now much out of repair, and masses 
of its debris had in many places choked up the surrounding trench. 

The people gazed curiously at me as we rode through the narrow 
streets; my sheep-skin attire not being a customary one in those parts; 
and some of the inhabitants, stopping the guide, inquired if 1 were 
a Russian.. 

" No," was the answer — " an Englishman." 
The announcement of my nationality produced an evident revul- 
sion of feeling in the Khivans, who did not appear to bear much 
good will toward their conquerors. 

The bazaar through which we rode was held in a narrow street: 
this was partly covered over with rafters and straw, probably in order 
to protect the passers-by from the rays of the sun during the sum- 
mer months. Grapes, dried fruits, and melons were for sale in 
many of the stalls: these last were niches or recesses in the walls, 
and no windows or shutters of any kind separated these primitive 
shops from the thoroughfare. In the center of each recess sat the 
proprietor, surrounded by his wares, and generally engaged in 
warming his hands over a charcoal pan, which, mounted on a tripod 
stand, stood before him. Further on, men were to be seen hammer- 
ing into different shapes sheets of copper brought from Russia, and 
manufacturing water-bottles and pipes. All sorts of bright-colored 
calico stuffs were offered for sale, and found ready purchasers, while 
thick skeins of silk of various hues, and spun in the country, were 
readily exchanged for Russian paper money, which passes in 



flitted past- us in the street, taking sly glances at the strangers 
through the corner of their veils; the fair sex in Khiva not having 
their faces uncovered, as is the customs among the Kirghiz, but 
obeying strictly the rules laid down for their guidance by the 
Prophet. 

As 1 expected to arrive at the capital either that afternoon or the 
following day, and. wished to make my entrance into the city clean 
shaved, and not with a beard of thirteen days' growth, 1 asked 
Nazar to make inquiries whether a barber could be found in the 
neighborhood. The news that the Englishman wanted to be shaved 



Oogentch as well as the native 




138 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



was soon spread through the town, and a boy volunteered to show 
me the way to the barber's shop. We were followed there by a 
crowd of certainly from three to four hundred people. It was the 
more remarkable to them, as the report had been spread that the 
stranger would have his chin shaved and not his head, the Khivans 
keeping their heads as devoid of hair as a block of marble. 

" Have your head shaved, sir," said Nazar; " it will look so nice 
— just like mine;" and, lifting off a green skull-cap, he showed me 
his bul!et-like poll. 

If I had been quite certain that my hair would have grown again, 
in all probability I should have followed my man's example; but 
not wishing to return to London with my head d la IS azar, 1 de- 
clined the proposal. 

On arriving at the shop, we dismounted, and sat down in the re- 
cess by the barber's side. The crowd bad now greatly increased, 
and was each moment becoming more dense, the whole town hav- 
ing by this time become aware than an Englishman was within the 
walls, and that he was about to be shaved. Moullahs, camel-drivers 
and merchants jostled the one with the other to obtain a good view, 
Their bronzed faces glanced and peered through the fur of their 
Astrakhan hats ; and the idea occurred to me that, if the barber were 
fanatically disposed, he might think that it would be doing a good 
deed in the eyes ot Allah and of his own countryman if he were 
forthwith to cut the throat of the unbeliever. 

There was not a single Russian in Oogentch, and no authorities 
save the moullahs, or priests, who, in all probability, would be more 
fanatically disposed than even the rest of the population. 

The remark made by the district Governor at Kasala now flashed 
across my mind—" If you go to Khiva without an escort, the Khan 
will very likely have your eyes taken out, or order you into a dun- 
geon. ' ' 

However, nothing w r as to be gained by crying over spilled milk — 
the die was cast; I was in Khivan territory, and, what was far more 
to the point, in the hands of the barber, w T ho was busily engaged in 
rubbing a thin strip of steel on a whetstone, the former article sup- 
plying the place of a razor, a handle being considered an unnecessary 
luxury. The street in front of the shop was now completely 
blocked up by the crowd. The people behind, who w r ere not able 
to see as well as they could wish, called out to their friends who 
hid the performance from their view, and made them sit. down, so 
that all might be able to enjoy the spectacle. It their curiosity was 
excited, mine was equally aroused. It was a strange scene, the 
crowd of eager faces, all staring intently into the recess; even some 
women, in spite of the prohibitory law, had stopped for a moment, 
and were looking at the performance with uumixed astonishment. 
If I had been in the hands of an executioner and about to have my 
throat cut, this would not have been half so interesting to tliein, for 
was 1 not having my chin shaved? " What will he do next?" asked 
one of the most curious of his neighbor. " Perhaps have his mus- 
tache shaved," was the reply; "but who knows? These infidels 
ha\e strange customs;" and the excitement grew to boiling pitch. 

My little Tartar began to be rather alarmed; he had not antici- 
pated such a gathering, arid he murmured in my ear, " Please God 



A RIDE TO KHITA. 



139 



you do not get your throat cut! They might cut mine too. Allah 
preserve us, and bring us out of this scrape! Have your head 
shaved, it will please them." 

At thot moment the barber had put the dirty thumb of his left 
hand into my mouth, and was brandishing the lazor in the air: no 
soap being used, as water was considered quite sufficient. Even 
under the most favorable circumstances, with a well-lathered chin 
and the sharpest of razors, being sliavefi, if one's beard luxuriates in 
a two weeks' growtn, is not a pleasant process, but at Oogentch it 
was a highly painful operation. The razor at each movement, of the 
barber's wrist tore out those hairs in my beard wliich it was too 
blunt to cut. The people were delighted. They were not prepared 
for tnis feature in the entertainment, and they roared with laughter 
as I slightly winced. Later ojj, the crowd became still more hilari- 
ous, and its enjoyment of the proceedings was greatly increased, for 
the awkward barber, who was confused at the presence of so large a 
number of spectators, became a little nervous, trembled, and gashed 
my cheek. 

The operation was at last over, and I was preparing to leave the 
shop, when a merchant came forward, and addressing me in Rus- 
sian, asked me to breakfast with him. On my entering the recess 
where his wares were exposed for sale, he removed a curtain which 
hung in an obscure coi ner, and, stooping, led the way through a low 
covered way mto a good-sized room. This was the apartment used 
by his family. His wife was seated there, engaged in performing 
some culinary operations over a charcoal fire. Her face was un- 
covered, as she did not expect any visitors, and with a rapid move- 
ment of her thick white shawl, she entirely concealed her features. 
She was not by any means a beauty, and her personal attractions 
not such as to overcome a traveler; however, thinking it best to keep 
us out of temptation, she left the-roomand entered the harem, which 
was divided by a curtain from the apartment in which we found our- 
selves. 

A dish composed of small pieces of roast pheasant, served up with 
a slightly acid sauce and surrounded by a huge pile of rice, was now 
brought in, followed by fried fish much resembling gudgeon ; and 
while 1 was eating, the host plied me with questions about the 
countries through which 1 had traveled. He was ignorant that any 
water communication existed between Great Britain and India, and 
thought that the ordinary route from England to tnat Empire lay 
through China. He was aware, however, that England was not the 
same country as India, thus showing more geographical knowledge 
than was possessed by his compatriot at our sleeping quarters of the 
previous evening. 

My host had been for some time at Tashkent, where he had learned 
Russian. He had also been to Bokhara, and had spoken with several 
merchants who had gone with caravans to Cabul and Lahore. He 
Was the more curious at meeting me, as he said that he had never- 
seen an Englishman, and was very anxious to know whether there 
was any chance of a war between Great Britain and Russia. This, 
he observed, was looked upon in Tashkent as certain soon to happen, 
the Russian inhabitants of that city talking about India as a mine 



140 



A BIDE TO KHIYA. 



of wealth, from winch they would be able to replenish their empty 

puises. 

" How will they march to India?" 1 inquired. " There are high 
mountains which block the way; and, besides this, it they were to 
come, how do you know that we should let them get back again?" 

"There are many roads," he answered. "Merchants go from 
Bokhara to Cabul in sixteen days in the summer months; then there 
is the road through Merve and Herat, which is now stopped by the 
1 Toorkomans, but which the Russians are going to open, and at the 
[same time to build a fort at Merve. You have fine soldiers in ln- 
|; dia, " he continued; " but we are told that the natives of India do 
not like you, and will look upon the Russians as deliverers." 

" How do you like the Russians?" 1 inq aired. 

" Pretty well; they buy my goods when 1 am at Tashkent, and 
leave alone small people like myself. If 1 were rich, it would be an- 
other matter; but then 1 could bribe — money will go a long way 
with the colonels, and even the generals do not always keep their 
palms shut." 

" Were you in Khiva when the country was taken?" 1 asked. 

; ' No; 1 was then atTashkeat, and we thought the Russians would 
never get here. It was fearful," he added; " so much blood shed; 
so many friends killed; such cruelties: war is a dreadful thing." 

*' Perhaps we shall meet some time or other in India," 1 remarked, 
*' and then 1 will return your hospitality." 

" That is to say if the Russians let you," replied the man; " but 
when they are in Hindostan there will not be much left for your- 
selves, or the natives either, for the matter of that; the officers here 
know how to squeeze money out of a stone." 

JSTazar now came in. He informed us that the horses were ready, 
and that the guide was wajting for me to continue the journey; so, 
pressing a few rubles on my entertainer, 1 mounted and rode off 
toward the capital. On emerging once more into the country, 1 
found that the road was separated on each side from the adjacent 
lands by low walls of dried clay, each about four feet in height; and 
the neighboring fields were divided from each other by ditches, 
which marked the boundaries of the respective properties. About 
nine versts from Oogentch we crossed a canal known by the name of 
the Shabbatat. This was surmounted by a bridge constructed in 
the clumsiest manner, of upright beams driven into the mud. below, 
and cross planks with earth thrown on them to form the road. There 
was no wall or parapet on either side to prevent the passengers from 
falling into the stream, which was at least twelve feet below, and 
with a frightened horse or drunken coachman it was not the sort of 
place that a nervous man would like to cioss on a dark night. 

The road was now no longer inclosed, and we rode through a 
sandy tract of seemingly uncultivated ground till we arrived at a 
cemetery. Here the tombs were made of dried clay, and formed in 
strange and fantastic shapes to suit the caprice or taste of the dead 
one's relatives. Banners or large white flags, mounted on poles ten 
or twelve feet high, floated in the breeze over several sepulchers, and 
marked the burial-place of some fallen hero or other, famous for his 
valor and prowess, while mounds of earth, unadorned save by the 
rising vegetation, were the last resting-places of his humble followers. 



A P. IDE TO tfHTVA, 



Ul 



A. small dwelling bard by this dead men's home was tenanted by an 
a.sred moullah, whose office it was to look after the cemetery, and 
oiler up prayers for the departed. A lad now approached us, and 
oftering me some dried fruits and tea, invited us to dismount and 
share their hospitality. 

Later on, 1 walked round the tombs, accompanied by the old 
moullah, who told of the fearful scenes enacted during the enemy's 
advance on his country; and on being informed that I was not a 
Russian, he heaped deep curses on the invaders. " They say that 
we began the wai," muttered the old man, *' and it was they who 
imprisoned our merchants at Kasala, in order to provoke the Khan: 
but our day is gone by, and the infidels remain our masters." 

After riding about seven versts further, we crossed another canal 
called the Kazabat, and as night was coming on, and there wpre no 
signs of the messenger 1 had sent forwaid to Khiva, we halted at a 
village calied Shamahoolhoor. Here it was not even necessaiy for 
the guide to ask for hospitality. A fine-looking man, with a cheery, 
frank expression on his nut-brown face, came out of a substantially 
built house, and asked us to honor his roof by resting beneath it til! 
the morrow. He was apparently better off than the owner of the 
dwelling where we had stopped the previous evening; and the room 
set apart for guests, though furnished in the same style as our quar- 
ters of the night before, was much larger, and the carpets, etc., of 
better quality. 

Our host was a sportsman and kept seveial hawks, these birds 
being much used in the chase by the Khivans. They are flown at 
hares or saigaks, a species of antelope, when the hawk, hovering 
above its prey's head, strikes him between the eyes, and the animal, 
becoming bewildered, does not know which way to turn, and falls 
an easy victim to the hounds. 

" Do you not hunt in this way in your country?" asked the host. 

" ISTo; we hunt foxes, but only with hounds, and lollow ourselves 
on horseback " 

" Are your horses like our own?" he inquired. 

" No s they are stouter-built, as a rule, have better shoulders, and 
are stronger animals ; but though they can gallop faster than your 
horses for a short distance, 1 do not think they can last so long!" 

" Which do you like best, your horse or your wife?" inquired the 
man. 

" That depends upon the woman," 1 replied; and the guide, here 
joining in the conversation, said in England they do not buy or sell 
their wives, and that I was not a married man. 

" What! you have not got a wife?" 

" !No; how could 1 travel if I had one?" 

" Why, you might leave her behind and lock her up, as our mer- 
chants do with their wives when they go on a journey." 

" In my country the women are never locked up." 

** What a maivel!" said the man; " and how can you trust them? 
Is it not dangerous to expose them to so much temptation? They 
are poor weak creatures, and easily led. But if one of them is un- 
faithful to her husband, what does he do?" 

" He goes to our moullah, whom we call a judge, and obtains a 
divorce, and marries some one else," 



142 



A RTDE TO KHTYA. 



" What! you mean tosaythathe does not cut the woman's throat?" 
" No; he would very likely be hanged himself if he did." 
" What a country!" said the host; " we manage things better in 
Khiva." 

The guide was much astonished on hearing the price of horses in 
England. " And what do the poor people do?" he inquired. 
" Why, walk." 
" Walk?" 

" Yes, walk " — this appearing to the man such an extraordinary 
statement that he could hardly credit it. 

Later on, 1 took out my breech-loadei from its case, as the weapon 
had become very rusty during the march, and began to clean it. 
The host scrutinized the gun very carefully, and w^s delighted at 
the rapidity with which it" could be loaded. 

"Ah!" he said, with a sigh, "if we had only been armed with 
some of your guns, the Russians would never have got here; the 
Khan : s arms were useless in comparison." With these words my 
host showed me his own gun, which had a barrel at least five feet 
lousx, and a rest to stick in the ground to steady the aim. " It is a 
nice weapon too," he added, " though not like yours, for mine takes 
five minutes to load, and quite a minute to firef indeed, before 1 can 
shoot once, the Russians with their rifles can kill twenty men. Our 
Khan has now no soldiers; the Russians will not let him have any." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The next morning we encountered on the road the messenger 
whom 1 had dispatched with my letter to the Khan. He was ac- 
companied by two Khivan noblemen. One of them courteously 
saluted us; he then said that his Majesty had received my letter, and 
had sent him forward to escort me into the city, and to say that 1 
was welcome to his capital. 

We were now fast nearing Khiva, which could be just discerned 
in the distance, but was hidden, to a certain extent, from our view 
by a narrow belt of tall, graceful trees; however, some richly-painted 
minarets and high domes of colored tiles could be seen towering 
above the leafy groves. Orchards, surrounded by walls eight and 
ten feet high, continually met the gaze, and avenues of mulberry-trees 
studded the landscape. 

We soon entered the city, oblong in form, and surrounded by two 
walls; the outer one is about fifty feet high: its basement is con- 
structed of baked bricks, the upper part being built of dried clay. 
This forms the first line of defense, and completely encircles the 
town, which is about a quarter of a mile within the wall. Foub high 
w r ooden gates, clamped with irons, barred the approach from the 
north, south, east, and west, while the wails themselves were out of 
repair. 

The town itself is surrounded by a second wail, not quite so high 
as the one just described, and with a dry ditch, which is now half 
rilled with ruined debris. The slope which leads from the wall to 
the trench had been used as a cemetery, and hundreds of sepulchers 
and tombs were scattered along some undulating ground just with- 



m 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



143 



out the city. The space between the first and second walls is used 
as a market-place, where cattle, horses, sheep, and camels are sold, 
and where carts are standing, filled with corn and grass. 

Here an ominous-looking cross-beam had been erected, towering 
high above the heads of the people with its bare, gaunt poles. 

This was the gallows on which all people convicted of theft are 
executed; murderers being put to death in a different manner, hav- 
ing their throats cut from ear to ear in the same way that sheep are 
killed. 

This punishment is carried out by the side of a large hole in the 
ground, not tar from the principal street in the center of the town. 
But 1 must here remark that the many cruelties stated to have been 
perpetrated by the present Khan previous to the capture of his city 
did not take place. Indeed, they only existed in the fertile Muscovite 
imagination, which was eager to find an excuse for the appropriation 
of a neighbor's propertj^. On the contrary, capital punishment was 
only inflicted when the laws had been infringed; and there is no 
instance of the Khan having arbitrarily put any one to death. 

The two walls above mentioned appear to have made up the de- 
fenses of: the city, which was also armed with sixteen guns. These, 
however, proved practically useless against the Russians, as the gar- 
rison only fired solid shot, not being provided with shell. The Khan 
seemed to have made no use whatever of the many inclosed gardens 
in the vicinity of the city during the Eussian advance, as, if he had, 
and firmly contested each yard of soil, 1 much doubt whether the 
Tzar's troops could have ever entered the city. 

It is difficult to estimate the population of an Oriental city by 
simply riding around its walls; so many houses are uninhabited, and 
others again are densely packed with inhabitants. However, 1 
should say, as a mere guess, that there are about 25,000 human 
beings within the walls of Khiva. The streets are broad and clean, 
while the houses belonging to the richer inhabitants are built of 
highly polished bricks and colored tiles, which lend a cheerful aspect 
to the otherwise somewhat somber color of the suroundings. There 
are nine schools: the largest, which contains 130 pupils, was built 
by the father of the present Khan. These buildings are all con- 
structed with high, colored domes, and are ornamented with frescoes 
and arabesque work, the bright aspect of the cupolas first attracting 
the stranger's attention on his nearing the city. 

Presently we rode through a bazaar similar to the one atOogentch, 
thin rafters and straw uniting the tops of the houses in the street, 
and forming a sort of roof to protect the stall-keepers and their cus- 
tomers from the rays of a summer sun. We were followed by 
crowds of people; and as some of the more inquisitive approached 
too closely, the Khivans who accompanied me, raising their whips 
in the air, freely belabored the shoulders of the multitude, thus 
securing a little space. After riding through a great number of 
streets, and taking the most circuitous course—probably in order to 
duly impress me" with an idea of the importance of the town — we 
arrived before my companion's house. Several servants ran forward 
and took hold of the horses. The Khivan dismounted, and, bowing 
obsequiously, led the way through a high doorway constructed of 
solid timber. We next entered a square open court, with carved stone 



144 



A KIDE TO KHIVA. 



pillars supportitio; a balcony which looked down upon a marble 
fountain, or basin, the general appearance of the court being that ct 
a patio in some nobleman's house in Cordova or Seville. A doc-' of 
a similar construction to the one already described, though some- 
what lower, gave access to a long, narrow room, a raised dais at each 
end being covered with handsome rugs. There were no windows, 
glass being a luxury which has only recently found its way to the 
capital: but the apartment received its light from an aperture at the 
side, which was slightly concealed by some treilis-woik, and from a 
space left uncovered in the ceiling, which was adorned with arabesque 
figures. The two doors which led from the court were each of them 
handsomely carved, and in the middle of the room was a hearth fill 
ed with charcoal embers. 3ly host, beckoning to me to take the 
post of honor by the fire, retired a few paces and lolded his arms 
across his chest; then, assuming a deprecatory air, he asked my 
permission to sit down. 

Grapes, melons, and other fruit, fresh as on the day when first 
picked, were brought in on a large tray and laid at my feet, while 
the host himself, bringing m a Russian tea-pot and cup, poured out 
some of the boiling liquid and placed it by my side: 1 all this time 
being seated on a rug, with my legs crossed under me, in anything 
but a comfortable position. 

He then inquired it 1 had any commands for him, as the Khan 
had given an order that everything I might require was instantly to 
be supplied. On my expressing a wish to have a bath, a servant was 
at once dispatched to give the necessary orders to the keeper of the 
establishment. In an hour's time Xazar informed me that the bath 
was ready, and that we should have to ride there, as it was in a 
house in the center of the town. The host now led the way, 2sazar 
bringing up the rear, carrying some soap in one hand, and a hair- 
brush in the other, the latter a source of great astonishment to the 
Khivans, who, having no nair of their own, could not understand 
its use. 

The bathing establishment consisted of three large rooms with 
vaulted roofs. Several divans made of dried clay were arranged 
around the walls of the first apartment, and covered with rugs and 
cushions. On one of these sat the keeper of the bath. He at once 
arose, and, beckoning to me to sit down beside him, produced a 
pipe. There is an old saying that when you are in Rome you must 
do as Rome does. 1 took "two or three whiffs, and was nearly choked 
in consequence. Some sherbet was now- poured out, and an at- 
tendant helped me to undress, when feeling the belt which contained 
all my gold, he asked what it was. It is no use showing Asiatics 
that you suspect them of possible dishonesty, and the result of my 
experience has been to prove that you can do more by apparently 
confiding in them than by any other method. I merely remarked: 
" Money;" and, asking him to take care of it while I went into the 
hot room, I gave him the belt. The man bowed down, and pointing 
to his head, conveyed to my mind that his life would answer for the 
money. He then led the way into a second apartment. Here there 
was a charcoal furnace, and on the tire a quantity of large stones 
which were at a white-heat. He threw three or four pailfuls ol cold 
water on the stones: the liquid was in an instant converted into 



A REDE TO KHIVA. 



145 



steam, and volumes of dense vapor filled the apartment. Hotter and 
hotter it grew, the atmosphere being so thick that the attendant was 
invisible. After steaming for about half an hour, he came to my 
side, and led me to a large reservoir filled with water and floating 
ice; when, seizing a bucket, he soused me from head to foot. The 
process was over, there being no shampooing or bone-kneading, as 
in similar establishments in Turkey, and 1 was conducted to the 
dressing-room. 

Here many of the principal inhabitants had assembled, in order 
to have a look at the stranger, who, although a Christian, still liked 
washing. One of them, an old moullah, could speak a little Arabic, 
having twice performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. He remembered 
Captain Abbott's visit to Khiva, forty years ago, and was under the 
impression that I, like that officer, had come to the Khivan capital 
from India and Herat, 

" He was such a nice gentleman!" observed the moullah, alluding 
to Abbott. " He was a medicine-man too, and cured several sick 
people. We heard afterward that he had been killed by the Russians. 
Was that the case?" And on being informed that Captain Abbott 
had returned in safety to England, he gave praise to God. 

" Your compatriot was with us about the time that the Russians 
were attempting to reach Khiva," continued the moullah; "and 
people here then thought that an army from Hindostan was coming 
to help us; but we did not require any assistance; the winterkilled 
the dogs by thousands. Praise be to God!" And this expression, 
which is the same in Tartar as in Arabic, was devoutly repeated by 
the rest of the company. 

** How did the Russians succeed in taking Khiva?" I inquired. 

" They came in the summer. Allah did not fight for us." 

" It has been said," I remarked, " that your people had poisoned 
some of the wells in the desert. Was this the case?" 

The old man turned red with indignation. 

" Poison the wells which. God has given us! no, never; for that 
would be a sin in his eyes." 

JNazar by this time had returned with the horses; so, shaking 
hands with the principal people, who arose at my departure, 1 rode 
away, followed by the blessings of the old priest — the latter, from 
the fact of my speaking Arabic, looking upon me as not quite a 
Mohammedan, but as certainly a very distinguished moullah in my 
own country. 

Later on in the afternoon 1 received a visit from no less a person 
than the Khan's treasurer. He was a tall, fat man, of about forty 
years of age, and with a forbidding expression on his countenance. 
He was extremely anxious to learn my business, and to know if 1 
had been sent to Khiva by my Government, and was much surprised 
that the Russians had not stopped me on the route. 

" You have not been to Fort Petro-Alexandrovsk?" he observed. 

" No," 1 replied. ' 

" Ah! that accounts for it," he continued, with a sarcastic laugh. 
' " They do not much love you English people, though, by ail ac 
counts, you are now on speaking terms, and not at war." 

" Do you think this state of things will last long?" 1 inquired. 
" They are pushing onward," he said, *' You will have an op- 



146 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



portunity of shaking hands with your friends before long. Four 
years ago we were quite as fai from Russia as you are now; and 
you have not many white men in India." 

A succession of visitors came pouring in durin g the evening, the 
arrival of an Englishman in Khiva being looked upon as an extraor- 
dinary occurrence. 1 have often pitied distinguished foreigners 
who, when visiting London, ate taken, among other sights, to the 
Zoological Gardens on a Sunda}^ — the habitues of the gardens staring 
at the unfortunate stranger as if he were a choice specimen of the 
gorilla or chimpanzee which has been imported from some recently 
discovered region. The lions and monkeys are deserted for the new 
arrival, and his every gesture is scanned as if he were not made of 
flesh, blood, and bone, like an ordinary mortal, and had nothing in 
common with the rest of humanity. This was my own position. 
My manner of eating with a knife and fork much astonished some 
of the visitors, and one of them, coming up, tried to imitate the 
proceeding, the conseqence being that he ran the fork into his cheek, 
to the great amusement of the rest of the party. 

The evening wore on, and taking an inkstand out of my writing- 
case, 1 tried to write a letter. However, this proved a difficult 
task, as the ink, which was frozen into a solid lump, had smashed 
the bottle. The cold still remained as great as ever; though now it 
was impossible for me to register it, owing to my thermometer hav- 
ing been broken during the journey. The small charcoal hearth in 
my room gave out but little warmth, and the draught in the aper- 
tures through the roof and walls was so great that it was impossible 
to undress. There was nothing for it but to wrap myself in my fur 
pelisse, and thus attired, lie down on my air mattress— the latter a 
source of the greatest astonishment to the Khivans, who were de- 
lighted when 1 explained how it could be used on an emergency as 
a raft. " We could cross the Amu on it," observed one of them. 
"And it is light and soft," added another, lifting it up between 
his finger and thumb. " The Russians have not such things," 
chimed in a third, who had once been inside Fort Petro- Alexan- 
dra vsk. 



CHAPTER XXX11. 
In the morning my host again appeared, accompanied by several 
servants bearing sweetmeats and fruits, the invariable preludes to a 
breakfast at Khiva, while a frozen block of milk was also sent me, 
and some butter which was as hard as a billiard ball. Nazar was 
all this time engaged in brushing a black shooting- jacket, the only 
garment 1 possessed except my regular riding attire. However, 1 
had brought one white shirt, thinking that I might possibly have an 
interview with some Central Asian magnate or other, and, greatly to 
my surprise, the article in question was not much the worse for the 
]OU rney. 

While these preparations were going on, the host kept plying 
Nazar with questions as to my tehin (rank), and as to whether 1 had 
any orders oi not, the Russian officers who had visited Khiva hav- 
ing been covered with decorations, a successful review or parade at 
St. Petersburg often enabling an officer to obtain an order which, 



A KlfrE TO KHIVA. 



147 



with us, would only be given for services in the field. Indeed, 1 
remember once seeing a Russian official with his breast so covered 
with decorations, that, struck with astonishment, 1 asked in what 
sanguinary actions he had distinguished himself. The man whom 1 
addressed smiled. " He has never been under fire," was the reply, 
"but he is useful to the State, as, through his agents, he knows 
everything that goes on in Russia." 

" You have no orders?" inauired Nazar. 

"No." 

" Well, 1 have told them that you have a great many, but that you 
have not brought them with you for fear of their being stolen. If J 
could only tie a few pieces ot ribbon on your coat it would look so 
well— the people too, would think so much more of me;" and my 
little Tartar servant swelled out his chest, as much as to say, " 1 
am a person of considerable importance, though you do not seem to 
see it." 

1 was a good deal annoyed with Nazar for having thus imposed 
upon my host, and instantly desired him to state that in my coun- 
try officers only received decorations tor real services, consequently 
there were not so many worn as in the Russian army; while as to 
my rank, 1 was a captain, and traveling at my own expense and for 
my own pleasure, and not in any way as an agent of the British 
Government. 

In the afternoon two officials arrived from the Khan's palace, with 
an escort of six men on horseback and four on foot. The elder of 
the two dignitaries said that his Majesty was waiting to receive me, 
and my horse being brought round, 1 mounted, and accompanied 
him toward ihe palace. The six men on horseback led the way, then 
1 came between the two officials, and Nazar brought up the rear 
with some attendants on toot, who freely lashed the crowd with 
their whips whenever any of the spectators approached our horses 
too closely. 

After riding through several narrow streets, where, in some in- 
stances, the house-tops were thronged with people desirous ot look- 
ing at our procession, we emerged on a small, flat piece of ground 
which was not built over, and which formed a sort of open square. 
Here a deep hole was pointed out to me as the spot where criminals 
who have been found guilty ot murder had their throats cut from 
ear to ear. 

The Khan's palace is a large building, ornamented with pillars 
and domes, which, covered with bright-colored tiles, flash in the sun 
and attract the attention of the stranger approaching Khiva. A 
guard of thirty or forty men armed withcimeters stood at the palace 
gates. We next passed into a small court-yard. The Khan's guards 
were all attired in long flowing silk robes of various patterns, 
bright-colored sashes being girt around their waists, and tall fur 
hats surmounting their bronzed countenances. The court-yard was 
surrounded by a low pile of buildings, which are the offices of the 
palace, and was filled with attendants and menials of the court, 
while good-looking boys of an effeminate appearance, with long 
hair streaming down their shoulders, and dressed a little like the 
women, lounged about and seemed to have nothing in particular 
to do. 



148 



A RIDE TO KHTVA. 



A door at the further end of the court gave access to a low pas 
sage, and, after passing through some dirty corridors, where 1 had 
occasionally to stoop in order to avoid knocking ray head against 
the ceiling, we came to a large, square-shaped room. Here the 
treasurer was seated, with three mouilahs, who were squatted by 
his side, while several attendants crouched in humble altitudes at 
Ihe opposite end' of the apartment. The treasurer and his compan- 
ions were busily engaged in counting some rolls of ruble-notes and a 
heap of silver coin, which had been received from the Khan's sub- 
jects, and were now to be sent to Petro-Alexandrovsk as part of the 
tribute to the Tzar. 

The great man now made a sign to some of his attendants, when 
a large wooden box, bearing signs ot having been manufactured in 
Russia, was pushed a little from the wall and offered to me as a 
seat. Nazar was accommodated among the dependents at the other 
end ot the room. After the usual salaams had been made, the func- 
tionary continued his task, leaving me in ignorance as to what was 
to be the next part of the programme. 

After I had been kept waiting for about a quarter of an hour, a 
messenger entered the room and informed the treasurer that the 
Khan was disengaged, and ready to receive me. We now entered 
a long corridor, which led to an inner court-yard. Here we found 
the reception-hall, a lara;e tent, or kibitka, of a dome-like shape. 
The treasurer, lifting up a told of thick cloth, motioned to me to 
enter, and on doing so 1 found myself face to face with the cele- 
brated Khan,, who was reclining against some pillows or cushions, 
and seated on a handsome Persian rug, warming his feet by a circu- 
lar hearth filled with burning charcoal. He raised his hand to his 
forehead as 1 stood before him, a salute which I returned by touch- 
ing my cap. He then made a sign for me to sit down by his side. 

Before 1 relate our conversation, it may not be uninteresting if 1 
describe the sovereign. He is taller than the average of his sub- 
jects, being quite five feet ten in height, and is strongly built; his 
face is of a broad, massive type, he has a low, squaie forehead, 
large dark eyes, a short straight nose with dilated nostrils, and a 
coal-black beard and mustache; while an enormous mouth, with 
irregular but white teeth, and a chin somewhat concealed by his 
beard, and not at all in character tvilh the otherwise determined 
appearance of his face, must complete this picture. 

He did not look more than eight-and- twenty, and has -a pleasant, 
genial smile, and a merry twinkle in his eye' very unusual among 
Orientals; in fact, to me an expression in Spanish would better de- 
scribe his face than any English one I can think of. It is very 
simpatica, and ] must say I was greatly surprised, after all that has 
been written in Russian newspapers about the cruelties and other 
iniquities perpetrated by this Khivan potentate, to find him such a 
cheery sort of fellow. 

His countenance was of a very different type from his treasurer's. 
The hang- dog expression of the latter made me bilious to look at 
him, and it was said that he carried to great lengths those pecul- 
iar vices and depraved habits to which Orientals are so often ad- 
dicted. The Khan was dressed in a similar sort of costume to that 
generally worn by his subjects, but it was made of much richer ma- 



A RIDE TO KHITA, 



149 



terials, and a jeweled sword was lying by his seat. His head was 
covered by a tall black Astrakhan hat, of a sugar-loaf shape; and 
on my seeing that all the officals who tvere in the room at the same 
time as myself kept on their fur hats, 1 did so. 

The sovereign, turning to an attendant gave an order in a low 
tone, when tea was instantly brought, and handed to me in a small 
porcelain tea-cup. A conversation with the Khan was now com- 
menced, and carried on through Nazar and a Kirghiz interpreter 
who spoke Russian, and occasionally by means of a moullah, who 
was acquainted with Arabic, and had spent some time in Egypt. 
The Khan, when he wished to say anything which was not in 
tended for the ears of the other attendants, murmured his question 
to this official, who would then translate them to me. 

The first question asked was how far England is from Russia, 
and whether Englishmen and Germans are of the same nation? thus 
showing rather a deficiency in geographical knowledge. Fortu- 
nately 1 had Wyld's map of the countries l^ng between England 
and india in my pocket, and producing it, 1 unfolded the map be- 
fore him. 

He at once asked where India was. 

I pointed to it. 

" No," he said, " India is there," pointing to the south-east. 

He was seated facing the south, and qpuld not understand that it 
was necessary to read the map to the reverse hand. 

As I was not quite certain where the north was, 1 desired Nazar 
to give me my compass, which he wore round his neck. When he 
handed it to me 1 observed the countenances of the Khan's follow- 
ers assume an expression of alarm, and they looked as if they thought 
that it was an infernal machine and might go off. However, the 
sovereign himself instantly recogized the use of the instrument, and 
said that he had two which had been given him some time previous 
by a traveler. 

1 now adjusted the map to the north, and showed him all the 
different places he mentioned, at the same time pointing with my 
finger to the direction in which he would have to ride it he should 
wish to visit them. 

He was under the impression that Afghanistan belonged to Eng- 
land, ana was greatly struck with the size of India, and the small 
space that Great Britain takes up on the map. " China, where the 
tea comes from, belongs to you also?" he inquired, evidently think- 
ing that England has the same relations with the Celestial Empire 
as Russia with Kokan. 

The Khan, then putting his hand on Hindostan on the map, ob- 
served that India was large, but not so large as Russia, which re- 
quired nearly two hands to cover it. 

1 here remarked that extent ot terri tory does not make up the 
strength of a riation, and that India contained nearly three times as * 
many inhabitants as were in the whole of the Russian Empire; 
while her Majesty ruled over such ,a large extent of territory 
which was not shown in the map, that the sun never sets through- 
out her dominions. 

He then asked if it were true that the son of our Queen had lately 
married the daughter of the Tzar, as the Russians had told him so. 



150 



A RTDE ¥0 KHIVA. 



and said that it was a proof of the friendship which existed between 
England and Russia, and of the interests they had in common, 
which would eventually lead to the two empires touching- in the 
East. 

He was also veiy anxious to know whether Englishmen loved the 
Russians as much as the Russians said they did; " tor if* 1 am to be- 
lieve what 1 hear from other sources," he continued, " the more 
particularly through the Bokharans, there is not much love lost be- 
tween the two countries, and the people in ]ndia are not at all eager 
to have their dear friends as such near neighbors." 

He then said, 4 " You had a war with Russia, some years ago, and 
-vere the allies of the Suit an. This made a great stir in Central 
Asia, and we were very glad to hear the news, as we thought you 
would defend us in the same manner it we were attacked. There 
was another Khan, however, who helped you at that time, and from 
all accounts you took some Russian territory. Now," continued the 
speaker, " 1 want to l^now if it is true that the Khan who was your 
friend at that time has been since defeated by another power, and 
that the Russians then laughed at you, and said that you were weak 
and cuuld not fight without your friend, after which they retook all 
the country they had previously lost." 

After a short silence, he suddenly observed, " Why did not Eng- 
land help me wheu 1 sent a mission to Lord Northbrooke?" 

To this 1 replied that, being only a traveler, and not in the secrets 
of tne Government, 1 could not know all that passed in the political 
world. 

" Well," observed the sovereign, " the Russians will now advance 
to Kashgar, then to Bokhara and Balkh, and so on to Merve and 
Herat; you will have to fight some day, whether your Government 
likes it or not. I am informed that India is very rich," he added, 
" and that Russia has got plenty of soldiers, but little with which to 
pay them. 1 am paying for some of them now," he continued, look- 
ing with a sad smile at his treasurer. 

The Khan next said, " We Mohammedans used to think that Eng- 
land was our friend because she helped the Sultan; but you have let 
the Russians take Tashkent, conquer me, and make her way into Ko- 
kan. W hat shall you do about Kashgar?" he inquired; " shall you 
defend Kashgar or not?" 

Here 1 remarked that ] was very sorry the Russians had been al- 
lowed to get to Khiva, as this might easily have been prevented, but 
that 1 could not give him an answer, as I was utterly ignorant of the 
policy of the Government. 

" You do not have a Khan," he asked, " at the head of affairs?" 

" No," I replied, " a Queen; and her Majesty is advised as to her 
policy by her ministers, who for the time being are supposed to rep- 
resent the opinion of the country." 

" Can your Queen have a subject's head cut 63?" asked the 
Khan. 

" No, not without a trial before our judges— they answer to your 
moullahs; and then if the prisoner has committed murder, he is 
nearly sure to be sentenced to death and hanged." 

" Then she never has their throats cut?" 

"No." 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



151 



11 Hindostan is a very wonderful country," continued the Khun. 
" The envoy I sent there a few years ago has told me of your rail- 
roads and telegraphs; but the Russians have railroads too." 

" i r es," 1 replied; " we lent them money, and our engineers have 
helped to make them." 

" Do the Russians pay you for this?" 

" Yes; so tar they have behaved very honorably." 

** Are there not Jews in your country, like some of the Jews at 
Bokhara?" 

" One of the richest men in England is a Jew." 

" The Russians do not take away the money from the Jews?" 

"No." 

The Khan here said a few w T ords to his treasurer, and then re- 
marked, " Why do they take money from me, then? The Russians 
love money very much." As he said this he shook bis head sor 
rowfully at the treasurer, and the latter, assuming a most mournful 
expression, ejaculated, " Hum!" purring out this monosyllable in a 
doleful strain; the word " hum" having been constantly used dur- 
ing our conversation both by the sovereign and his nobles. 

The Khan now by a low oow made me aware that the interview 
was over. 

" 1 have given orders for you to be shown everything you may 
wish to see in my city," he observed; when, saying good-by, and 
thanking him for his kindness, I returned to my quarters. The 
people bowed down before the cortege as we rode back through the 
streets, for the news had spread that my reception had been a very 
gracious one. 

CHAPTER XXX1I1. 

The present Khan is the eleventh in succession of the same fam- 
ily. He commenced his reign ten years ago, at the death of the 
previous sovereign, the khanate descending from father to son, and 
not to the eldest male relative, as is the case amidst some other Mo 
hammedan nalions. The monarch receives the crown-lands and gar- 
dens intact. With the rest of the nation, the property at a father's 
death is divided equally among his sons, thus doing away with the 
possibility of any one possessing a large extent of the soil. 

The actual Khan, after paying his annual tribute to the Tzar, has 
100,000 rubles, or about £14,000, a year left for himself. He has no 
army to maintain, and some of the Toorkoman tribes are recommenc- 
ing to pay him taxes. This they do for fear lest otherwise it might 
be made a pretext for a Russian advance into their country. 

The following day I rode out to visit the sovereign's gardens, 
which are about three versts from the town. He hasfive; each of 
them is from four to five acres in extent; they are surrounded by 
high walls, built of dried clay, with solid buttresses at the corners. 
Two large wooden gates at the entrance of the inclosure were opened 
by the gardener, a little swarthy man, clad in a dressing-gown of 
many colors, and with a long iron hue on his shoulder. 1 was ac- 
companied by the son of my host and Kazar, when, the former say- 
ing that I had tiio Khan's permission, the gatdener stepped aside and 
allowed us to enter, 



152 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The garden was remarkably well kept, and the horticultural ar- 
rangements much better than 1 expected to find so far from Europe. 
Here were to be seen long aveuues of fruit trees, carefully cut and 
trimmed; there men were engaged in preparing the soil, which 
would be thickly studded with melons in the ensuing spring. Ap- 
ple, pear, and cherry trees abounded, while in the center of the 
ground high scaffoldings, covered with trellis-work, showed where, 
in summer, the vines are trained. Under their grateful shade cool 
walks are formed to piotect the Khan and his ladies from the burn- 
ing sun. 

He has a small summer palace in his garden, tu which he resorts, 
and where he holds his court in June and July. Trenches for the 
purpose of irrigation are cut in all directions about the grounds, 
while frequently mulberry-trees, terminating in thick clusters of the 
same, are interspersed throughout the garden. 

The scene must be a striking one when the Khan, surrounded by 
his court and officers of state, administers justice; for this takes 
place in the open, and on a raised stone dais, which is ascended by a 
low flight of steps. There the delinquents are brought; and if they 
do not at once confess their guilt to their lord and master, he orders 
them to be taken to the moullah, a learned man, whose business it is 
to investigate all such matters. The latter produces a copy of the 
Koran, and desires the suspected individual to swear his innocence; 
if this is done, and there are no eye-witnesses to prove the man's 
guilt, he is allowed to go free. Should he perjure himself the Khi- 
vans believe that the vengeance of Allah will speedily overtake him, 
and that the retribution will then be much greater than any punish- 
ment which man's justice could inflict. 

" But," 1 inquired, " are there never some wretches among you 
who will risk the wrath of Allah, and, perjuring themselves, be re- 
leased to commit other crimes?" 

" No," was the answer. " The fear of God's vengeance is happi- 
ly too great to admit of such wickedness." 

" But supposing that there are witnesses who can prove that the 
person committed the crime, and he still denies it. What do you do 
then?" 

" Why, we beat him with rods, put salt in his mouth, and expose 
him to the burning rays of the sun, until at last he confesses, and 
then is punished tor his breach of the law." 

After riding ihrough the gardens which lie on the southern side 
of the city, and are on the road to Merve, we returned to Khiva, and 
visited tiie prison — a low building on the left of the court, which 
forms the entrance to the Khan's palace. Here 1 found two prison- 
ers, their feet fastened in wooden stocks, while heavy iron chains en- 
circled their necks and bodies. They were accused of having as- 
saulted a woman, and two females were witnesses of the act; but as 
the prisoners would not confess, they were to be kept in confinement 
till they acknowledged their guilt. 

On leaving the jail, 1 rode to the principal school, and found it a 
series of little low rooms or open niches, which inclosed a court- 
yard. A large fountain or basin for water had been constructed in 
the center of the open space, the corners of the court being sur- 
mounted by some high domes and minarets of colored tiles similar 



A RTD"R TO TvHTVA . 



to those in the Khan's palace. A moullah superintends each school, 
and under his supervision there is a staff of other teachers. The 
subjects taught are reading, -writing, and the Koran, pages ot which 
are committed to memory by the pupils. The teacher squats beside 
the hearth in the middle ot the room, while the boys sit around him, 
and learu from his lips verses of their Scripture. The parents pay 
lor their children's tuition in corn, a certain number of measures 
being given to the instructor in return for his labors. A crowd fol- 
lowed us about, and some of the people were much surprised, see- 
ing that I wrote from left to right, instead of from right to left, as 1 
jotted down my notes in a pocket-book. 

A succession ot visitors awaited us on returning to our quarters, 
several moullahs who had been to Egypt and Mecca calling to 
pay their respects to the Englishman, who, like themselves, spoke 
Arabic. 

In the meantime Nazar was making preparations for a start to 
Bokhara. Bread had been ordered, or rather a peculiar sort ot little 
round cake, which substitutes the so-called staff of life at Khiva. 
The guide had promised to accompany us, and the camel-driver was 
thoroughly prepared to accompany me to the end of the world so 
long as 1 gave him plenty to eat. 1 determined to remain one day 
longer and then leave for Bokhara. This would be a twelve days' 
march from Khiva. From Bokhara I could go on to Merve and 
Meshed, where we should be 'in Persian territory. 

1 should much have liked to have remained some days longer at 
Khiva, but time was important. It was the 27tn of January, and 1 
was obliged to be back with my regiment on the 14th of April. How- 
ever, L'liomme propose, mais Dieii dispose; and the truth of this 
celebrated old French saying was prominently brought before me 
next morning, lor, on returning from an early ride through the 
market, where a great sale of camels and horses was taking place, 1 
found two strangers in my apartment. One of them, producing a 
letter, handed it to me, saying that he had been sent to Khiva by 
order of the commaudant at Pttro-Alexandrovsk. 

On opening the inclosure, 1 found a letter written in Kussian on 
one side of the paper, and in French on th.e other. 

Its contents w 7 ere to the following effect; that the colonel had re- 
ceived a telegram, via Tashkent, and that 1 must go to the fort to 
receive it. 

1 was greatly surprised to find that any one took so much interest 
m me as to dispatch a telegram so many thousand miles, and put 
himself to the expense of having the message forwarded from 
Tashkent, where the telegraph ends, to Khiva, a distance of nine 
hundred miles, by couriers with relays of horses. It must have cost 
a large sum of money sending that telegram, and 1 began to be a 
little alarmed, thinking that perhaps I should be asked to pay for it. 

The messenger who had brought the letter was eager for 'my im- 
mediate return to the fort; but this, 1 said was out of the question 
till the next day, as 1 wished to make some purchases in the town, 
and must also pay a farewell visit to the Khan previous to my de- 
parture. 

A Httie later 1 rode to the bazaar, accompanied by Nazar and the 
gukle, the latter not being at all pleased at our having to go to Petro- 

m 



154 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



Alexandrovsk. He was very uneasy in his own mind about the 
consequences which might occur to him for having brought me to 
Khiva. 

One of the men sent with the commandant's letter was now con- 
tinually in our wake, and 1 subsequently learned that a strict order 
had been sent to the Khan to have our party followed and taken to 
the fort, in the event of my having left the city. 

On arriving at the bazaar we were instantly surrounded by mer- 
chants, all eager to dispose of their wares. On selecting the most 
respectable-looking man 1 could see, he led me into a large room at 
the back of his shop. Here, after he had offered us some dried fruit 
and tea, as indispensable to a Khivan tradesman when bargaining 
with a customer as coffee to a shop-keeper in Cairo, he proceeded 
to a large wooden box which stood in the coiner of the apartment, 
and unlocked it with an enormous key which hung from his girdle, 
the key, as it turned in ihe lock, giving out a peculiar hissing sound, 
owing to some hidden mechanism within. 

" Ho you want something for a young or for an old woman," 
asked the merchant — Nazar having previously informed him that 1 
wished to buy some female ornaments. 

" If you want it for a .young wife, look how beautiful this is — she 
would look lovely with it;" and he handed me a large gold ring, 
curiously set witn small pearls and turquoises. 

" This would be too large for her finger," I remarked. 

" Yes," replied the man; " but nor for her nose. This is for 
her nose." 

"Lovely!" said the guide. "My brother-in-law's wife has one 
its very counterpart; buy it." 

" Sir," said Nazar, " no girl could resist you if you offered her 
such a present." 

The whole party were much surprised when 1 informed them that 
in England we only put rings in the noses of the unclean animal. 

The jewelry for sale was of a tawdry description; however, event- 
ually i discovered a curiously worked gold ornament, with long 
pendants of coral and other stones. After a great deal of haggling 
Nazar succeeded in obtaining it for me at one-third of the price 
originally asked ; the Khivan jewelers having very elastic consciences, 
in spite of the Prophet's injunction that no true believer is to de- 
ceive the stranger within his gates. 

On returning to my quarters, 1 found the treasurer awaiting my 
arrival. He had heard the news of my enforced departure, and came 
to know at what time it would be convenient for me to pay my re- 
spects and say farewell to the Khan. Shortly afterward I rode with 
him to the palace, when he first led the w r ay to the treasury, and 
there presenting me with a dressing-gown, said that his Majesty had 
been pleased to beg my acceptance of this garment. It was a long 
robe, made of black cloth, reaching to the knees, and lined inside 
with silk and bright-colored chintzes. Indeed, as 1 was afterward 
informed, this is the highest honor that can be paid to a stranger; 
and a halat, or dressing-gown, from the Khan, is looked upon at 
Khiva much as the Order of the Gaiter is in England. 

The sovereign expressed his annoyance that I had to leave his 
capital so suddenly. He then remarked, 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



155 



*' You will come back again, 1 trust; and pray tell all Englishmen 
whom you may meet that 1 have heard from the envoy 1 sent to 
India of the greatness of their nation, and only hope lhat before 
long 1 shall see some of them in my capital." 

He was very kind in his manner, and shook hands warmly when 1 
tok my leave; the impression being left on my mind that the Khan 
of Khiva is the least bigoted of all the Mohammedans whose ac- 
quaintance 1 have made in the course of my travels, and that the 
stories of his cruelties to Russian prisoners, previous to the capture 
of his city, are pure inventions which have been disseminated by the 
Russian press in order to try and justify the annexation of his ter- 
ritory. 

Before leaving my quarters I endeavored to persuade my host to 
accept a present in lieu of the handsome treatment my party and 
myself had. received at his hands. However, this was a fruitless 
task; the Khivan at once declined, saying that I was the Khan's 
guest, and that his Majesty would be very angry if he were to learn 
that I had tried to requite his hospitality by giving a present to his 
servant. Indeed, when 1 made it a personal matter my attempt was 
equally fruitless, and 1 left the city slightly pained at not being abie 
to leave behind some token or other to show how much 1 appreciated 
hU kindness during my stay at Khiva. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

"We left the city by its eastern gate, and presently passed by a 
building constructed with some regard to taste, and surrounded by 
a number of large gardens, all separated from each other by low 
walls. The house belonged to the sovereign's brother, who, it was 
said, had the intention of visiting St. 'Petersburg, so as personally 
to ask the Tzar to withdraw his troops from the Khan's dominions. 

It was a glorious, blight morning, and one calculated to raise the 
spirits of myself and party, now very much depressed at hearing 
that possibly we should have to return to Fort Number One. Little 
Nazar in particular lamented the idea of a return to the snow-cov- 
ered steppes, where there was nothing to eat, and said that he had 
been obliged to take in his leathei belt three holes, and was only 
just beginning to fill it out again. 

The road was now quite uninclosed, and a large tract of fertile 
country extended on all sides as far as the eye could reach. Pres- 
ently we passed a small village about twelve versts from Khiva; and 
twenty-four versts further on, another village called Goryin, finally 
halting for the night at Anca. We had marched sixty versts, or 
forty miles, in six hours, our horses having gone all the time at a 
slow, steady trot, the camels not reaching our halting-place till eight 
hours afterward. 

Anca is a large town, and has a bazaar and market, which are 
famous throughout the district. We stopped at the house of the 
Governor, a Knivan, who had been sent by the Khan on a mission 
to Lord Northbrooke four years ago, just before the Russians in- 
vaded Khiva, and at the time when the Khan thought that an al- 
liance with England would piove beneficial to the country, 



156 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The moment our host discovered that 1 was an Englishman, be 
squatted at my feet, and asked a hundred questions about India and 
the natives. He had heard of the Prince of Wales's visit to those 
regions; and in order to explain to me his own route, and what 
towns he had passed through on his road to Calcutta, he cut an 
apple in pieces. Taking one seed, he placed it on the ground, with 
the remark, " Khiva;" then for Herat he put down a second seed; 
while for Lahore and Lucknow he cut an apple into two pieces; and 
for Calcutta he put a large apple on the floor, endeavoring in this 
way to indicate to me his idea of the relative size and importance of 
the places which be had visited. 

The soldiers in India, iu his opinion, were magnificent men with 
splendid uniforms; as to the Russian soldiers, they were nothing in 
comparison; and he spat on the ground by way of showing his con- 
tempt for the Cossacks. 

"But they have a great many more soldiers than you," he re- 
marked, " and could afford to lose as many men as you have in 
India, and begin again with double the original force." 

" But the Russians like us," I said. " Their Emperor is a man 
of peace; and many people in my country say that it will be a good 
thing tor India when she has a civilized neighbor on our frontier, 
instead of the Afghans." 

The Ehi van's face swelled with suppressed mirth, which he 
thought that it would be indecorous to give vent to; but checking 
his laughter as best he could, he merely said, 

" If they like you so much, why do they prevent your goods com- 
ing here? Indian teas are either forbidden altogether, or have a 
prohibitory duty placed upon them; and 1 have otien heard it said 
that if an Englishman were to go from India to Russia, he would 
be killed by the Russians, and that they would say we had done it, 
in order to stir up an ill-feeling against us." 

Presently he left me, and sent his boy, an effeminate-looking lad, 
who appeared much surprised when 1 told him in rather gruff tones 
to return to his master. I was afterward informed by several Rus- 
sian officers of their partiality to these appendages of Eastern courts. 
Oriental habits have proved too much for the Tartar blood, which 
is so largely diffused throughout the Russian race; and where the 
victors should have set an example to the conquered, the latter have 
in many instances brought the victors down to their own level. 

W e started early the next morning. We rode across the Amu 
Darya at the spot about thirteen miles from Anca, and where the 
stream was nearly two versts wide; the ice being in some places 
more than a foot thick. Presently we stopped by a Cossack cavalry 
station, called Lager. Here, in spite of the inclemency of the season, 
three squadrons were picketed out in the open, the horses having 
coats like bears, and looking exceedingly well, notwithstanding ex- 
posure to the extreme cold. 

We were now approaching Petro- Alexandrovsk, and a few dark 
spots on the distant horizon were pointed out to us as the recently 
erected fort. The emissary who had brought me the commandant's 
letter spurred his horse forward, leaving his companion with my 
party and self. " He has only gone on to say that you are coming,' 
was the reply to my inquiry, and a few minutes later we rode into 



A RIDE T?0 KHIVA. 



157 



Petro-Alexandrovsk. It has been built on the site of a house and 
garden which formerly belonged to the uncle of the Khan of Khiva, 
the materials of his house having been used in constructing the wall 
which has been erected round the fort. 

The commandant was out hunting, so a servant informed me. At 
that moment a young officer coming up accosted me by my narrue, 
and said, " We expected you before this. Come with me. There 
is a room prepared;" and he led the way to a small building inhab- 
ited by some of the officers in the garrison. Here I found several of 
them congregated in a small room, and was introduced in due form 
by my newly made acquaintance. I then heard that the telegram 
which had arrived for me was from H.RH. the Duke of Cam- 
bridge, and that he required my immediate return to European 
Russia. I subsequently learned from a Russian officer that, al- 
though the message was from London, the people most interested 
in its having been dispatched were at St. Petersburg, Generals Milu- 
tin and Kauffmann not at all approving of any Englishman travel- 
ing in Central Asia. The document had been waiting for me several 
days at the fort, and, in the event of my having gone first to Petro- 
Alexandrovsk, 1 should never have seen Khiva. 

A little later an officer brought a message from Colonel Ivanoff, 
to say that he had returned from shooting, and was waiting to see 
me. Be is a tall man, considerably over six feet in height, but very 
thin, and of a German type, his whiskers having a decided Teutonic 
appearance. I was received Dy him at first a li t tie stiffly, but his 
demeanor soon changed, and he began to laugh about my journey. 

" Too bad," he said, " letting you get so far, and not allowing 
you to carry out your undertaking." 

" it was lucky," I remarked, " that I did not come here first." 

" Yes," said ivanoff; " when I received the dispatch, and founqV 
that you did not arrive, I sent back a special Tartar courier to Fort 
Number One, to say that you had probably gone on to Bokhara, and 
thus given us the slip; but we should have caught you there," he 
continued. 

"It is the fortune of war," 1 said. * 4 Anyhow, I have seen 
Khiva." 
The colonel here winced a little. 

" Khiva; that is nothing," he said. " Why, Major Wood, one of 
your compatriots, an officer in the Engineers, was here last summer: 
he could have gone to Khiva any day if he liked; indeed, 1 was a 
little surprised that he never asked me to let him go there." * 

" Well," 1 remarked, " as i have to return to European Russia, 
there can be no objection to my going to St. Petersburg, via Tash- 
kent and Western Siberia, or by Krasnovodsk and the Caspian." 

" JVly orders are very strict about this," said the colonel. *' "You 

* Apparently there was a slight misunderstanding between Major Wood and 
Colonel Ivanoff on ihis point, or possibly the atmosphere in Central Asia had 
somewhat affected the colonel's memory. After my return to London from 
Khiva, I dined one evening with Major Wood, and asked him why he had not 
gone to Khiva. His reply was, " I wanted to go there very much : I frequently 
asked Ivanoff to let me, saying that it was a great nuisance to have come so 
tar, and not be allowed to enter the town: however, Ivanoff replied that he 
was very sorry, but he could not allow me to do so, as he had received a strict 
order from General Kauffmann on that subject. 



158 



A RIDE TO KHITA. 



mu9t go back the shortest way through Kasala. But you can write, 
if you like, to General Kolpakovsky, the officer commanding our 
troops in Toorkistan, and 1 will send on the letter with the same 
courier who leaves this afternoon to announce your capture; aud 
then, it you return to Kasala in the course of three or four days' 
time, you will there receive the answer." 

1 dined at Ivanofl's that evening, and had the pleasure of making 
the acquaintance of the officers on bis personal staff. They were all 
of them intelligent men, and, to my surprise, very abstemious, 
which is iudeed a rare quality amidst the officers in European Russia. 

We talked for a long time about England aud Russia, the general 
tone of conversation being that England and Russia ought to be on 
the most friendly terms, but that our interests were so diametiically 
opposite that it would be impossible, sooner or later, to avoid a col- 
lision. 

With reference to Merve, the colonel remarked that he could take 
it at any time, provided his Government would allow him to do so, 
while he said that the fortress he would then build there would be 
a great deal stronger than the one at Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

" In fact," he added, " there we hardly require a fort. You see 
it only consists of a low earthen parapet. The Khivans are very 
quiet people; they do not give us any trouble, and they pay their 
tribute very regularly. The Toorkomans, however, are quite another 
race; they were perpetually quarreling with our Kirghiz. Howerer, 
a few months since 1 caught an armed band, which had crossed the 
Oxus; 1 ordered two of my captives to be tried by court-martial, and 
had them hanged. 

" We should have no difficulty whatever in taking Merve," ob- 
served another officer. "People talk of the difficulty of ge(ting 
there; why, our Cossacks could be at Merve in a week if the Gov- 
ernment would only allow us." 

" It is too had," continued a third; " our comrades at Tashkent 
and Kokan are getting all the rewards and decorations, and here we 
are doing nothing. When 1 came to Petro-Alexandrovsk 1 thought 
that it would lead to something." 

A newspaper was brought in later in the evening. It was the 
" Russian World," and it contained an article about the large num- 
ber of German officers in high position in the Russian army, a num- 
ber out of all proportion with the population of the Baltic Provinces, 
as compared with the rest of the Empire. 

It was easy to see, from the remarks which were freely passed, 
that not much love was lost between the officers in the garrison and 
the Germans, Ivanoff himself, in spite of his Teuton appearance, 
being very anti-Prussian, in which feeling he was joined by almost 
every officer in the garrison. Indeed, during my journey through 
Russia, I was struck by the marKed hostility shown by all classes to 
the Austrians and Germans, the conduct of the former power dur- 
ing tne Crimean war having left a very bitter feeling behind it, which 
is stiengthened by the supposed antagonistic views of the two Gov- 
ernments with reference to Constantinople. 

The Russian officers were unanimous in saying that the new mili- 
tary system in Russia was as yet in a state of transition, and that 
they were not yet prepared for war with so great a power as Q&c- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



159 



many; the general remark being, if tliey could only have peace for 
five more years, that then Russia would be able to show her teeth. 

As to Austria, she was spoken of in terms of great contempt, and 
alluded to as it she only held her place in Europe by reason of the 
sufferance of the Emperors Alexander and William; the Austrian 
army being looked down upon by the Kussians. 

However, I can not help thinking that the latter will find out their 
mistake when the day arrives for them to attempt an invasion of 
Francis Joseph's dominions. Austria has profited by her defeat at 
Sadowa. Her officers and men are now as intelligent and capable 
as those of any army in Europe; while, though her exchequer is at 
a low ebb, it is really in not so bad a state as that of her neighbor, 
whose reckless borrowing to pay the interest of former loans is very 
likely to ultimately produce a national bankruptcy — the excess of 
expenditure over income during the years 1868, '69, '70, '71, '72, 
amounting to over $16,000,000, and the deficit for 1874 being over 
$3,000,000. 

There were about thirty ladies in Petro-Alexandrovsk : these were 
the wives and daughters of the officers in the garrison; and unce a 
week a dance was held at a club-house wiiich had been recently 
built. 

The ladies had reached the fort, having made the journey in the 
summer months by the Syr Darya, the Sea of Aral, and Amu Darya 
(Oxus), in the steamers which ply between Tashkent and Petro- 
Alexandrovsk, The latter was a dull quarter, and the fair sex had 
done their best to enliven it by establishing this weekly dance. 
Colonel Ivanoff very kindly gave me an invitation for the one which 
was to be held Ihe next evening, while 1 was told that the following 
day there would be some coursing with grayhounds and hawks, one 
of the diversions in Central Asia. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

The following morning, after a hurried breakfast, an officer came 
and informed us that everything was ready for a start. I now 
mounted a little bay horse, which, though hardly fourteen hands, 
danced about beneath me as it he had been carrying a feather-weight 
jockey. 

There were horses and men of all kinds and shapes — long-legged 
men on short-legged horses, and short-legged men on giant Toorko- 
man steeds; all the officers being in uniform, while some Bokharau 
and Kirghiz sportsmen, attired in crimson dressing-gowns, rode in 
the rear of our cavalcade. 

Seven or eight grayhounds were led in couples behind the master 
ot the hunt, a si out colonel, who was said to understand the ways 
and haunts of timid puss better than any other officer in the garri- 
son; and a stoutly built Khivan who rocle a fine-looking chestnut, 
bore upon his elbow a graceful falcon, which, now hooded, was des- 
tined later on to play its part in the day's sport. 

The Kirghiz made the welkin ring with their yells. Immense 
excitement prevailed, while all the dogs in the garrison, attracted 
by the noise and commotion, were collected round the cortege. 



160 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The hunting-giound was about eight, miles distant, and away we 
rode at a Tattling pace; the gallop to cover being considered as a part 
of the day's entertainment. 

The country lay open and flat before. There was not an obstacle 
to check our couise save now and then a dike, some eight feet wide, 
which the horses took in fair style; the Kirghiz and Bokharans 
looking bacic to see how the animal 1 bestrode would jump w ith his 
heavy rider. Never a stumble, however, and the hardy little beast 
could have carried Daniel Lambert himself, if that worthy but obese 
gentleman had been resuscitated for the occasion. Now a Bokharan 
would, race by me with a wild cry. and lash a flagging mongrel, 
which, mingling with our pack, and soon outstripped" by his fleeter 
brethren, had crossed the rider's path. 

All of a sudden the master pulled up his panting steed, and, dis- 
mounting, told us that w T e had reached the cover. 

A narrow track of bush and bramble- covered ground was extend- 
ed right and left of our party, while over the low brush-wood was 
seen a broad crystal streak, like a Venetian mirror set in a frame of 
frosted silver. The Oxus lay before us, and the flakes of snow 
which covered the banks and surrounding country marked its 
breadth from shore to shore. 

We now formed one long line, each horseman being twenty yards 
apart from his fellow, and in this order rode through the reeds and 
brambles. 

Presently a wild shout from a red -gowned Kirghiz announced 
that a hare had broken cover, and Russians, Cossacks, Kirghiz, and 
self galloped in pursuit of the startled quarry. Straight at the river 
went the frightened animal, and after it, in hot pursuit, our hetero- 
geneous pack\ Down the bank our horses slid rather than scram- 
bled, and acioss tne river we raced, each man vying with his neigh- 
bor. Half a mile from the further shore lay another dense copse, 
and it. seemed as if the grayhounds would be distanced in the chase. 

But the rider who bore the falcon now launched his bird into the 
air. Another second and the hawk was perched on its victim's 
back, while the well-trained greyhounds, surrounding their prey, 
stood open-mouthed, with lolling tongues, not daring to approach 
the quarryc 

The master now galloped up, and, dismounting, took possession 
of the hare, when in a few minutes more we were again in full cry. 
Five hares eventually rewarded our exertions, and then, after a head- 
long burst homeward, I found myselt again within the precincts of 
the fort. 

1 had dispatched a letter to General Kryjinovsky, the Governor- 
general of Toorkistan during Kauffmann's absence from his com- 
mand; and Colonel I vanoff now informed me that two officers, with 
a Cossack escort, were about to march to Kasala. He also said that 
it would be as well if I were to accompany the party, and receive at 
Fort Number One the answer to my request to be permitted to re- 
turn to St. Petersburg by Tashkent and Western Siberia, instead of 
by Orenburg. 

1 had a conversation with the colonel the next evening about the 
respective merits of the Kirghiz and English horses; and I left the 
good-natured officer in considerably doubt as to rny veracity, neither 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



161 



his staff nor himself being able to believe that any English horse had 
ever jumped thirty-six feet in bieadth; while Osbaldestone's feat of 
riding 200 miles in eight hours and a halt was in their eyes nothing 
in comparison to the leap above menl ioned. 

People in Central Asia cannot be supposed to be so aujait with 
what goes on in the world as we denizens ot the west, and 1 eventu- 
ally succeeded in obtaining a certain amount of credence, by saying 
that no one in the room could tie me with a rope in such a manner 
that I could not free myself. An artillery officer now stepped for- * 
ward, and wished my assertion to be put to the proof. This was 
done, and the result disconcerted the audience, as the time 1 took in 
escaping from my bonds was not half so Long as the officer had i 
taken in tying me. 

The following morning the Khan's treasurer arrived, bringing 
with him several thousand rubles as an installment of the war in- 
demnity. He breakfasted with lvanoff", and managed to eat his food 
with a knife and fork, though the management of the latter article 
appeared to give him a good deal of trouble. 

In spite of his Mussulman creed, the treasurer had a taste for 
champagne, which hits sovereign also appreciates. A few dozens of 
this wine are frequently sent to Kniva from the fort, the scruples of 
the Khan having been allayed by the information that champagne 
was not known to the Prophet, and that consequently he could not 
have laid down any law prohibiting its use. 

Shortly before the arrival of the treasurer, an envoy from the Emir 
of Bokhara had been at Petro-Alexandrovsk. There had been a 
misunderstanding about some nomad Kirghiz, who, it was said, 
used to cross the frontier and enter Bokharan territory when the 
Russian officials were about to collect the taxes. Some correspond- 
ence on this subject had ensued between the Emir and General 
Kauff rnann. The former, by all accounts, was not a very enlight- 
ened ruler, and it was said of him that on one occasion he sent to a 
Russian officer, who had been seen looking at the moon through a 
telescope, and inquired what it was he could see there. " Mountains 
and extinct volcanoes," was the answer. " Dear me," said the 
Emir, " how very curious! Pray who is the Khan in the moon? 1 
should like to make his acquaintance." 

While talking about Bokhara, an officer remarked that a Russian 
and German scientific expedition was about to visit that city, and. 
subsequently survey the country between Samarcand and Peshawur; 
a railway to Central Asia being absolutely necessary tor the purpose ' 
of quickly concentrating troops, should it be required. " To our 
next meeting," suddenly observed a young officer, pledging me in a 
glass of champagne. 41 Where will it be?" " Who knows?" said 
another: " 1 suppose, sooner or later, we shall meet on the battle- 
field. ' ' In fact, almost every officer 1 met in Central Asia was of 
opinion that ere long a collision would take place between themselves 
and our troops in India, the general remark being, "It is a great 
pity; but our interests clash, and though capital friends as individ- 
uals, the question as to who is to be master in the east must soon 
be decided by the sword." 

I was now busy with Nazar making preparations for our leturn 
march to Orenburg, and laying in a supply of provisions lor the 



162 



A BIDE TO KTIfVA. 



journey. 1 had purchased two dozen pheasants, these birds being 
found in great profusion in Khiva, where they can be bought for 
livepence each. 

My little Tartar had a doleful expression on his countenance, and 
on inquiry 1 found that he was living with lvanoff's soldier-serv- 
ants, and that they sold their own rations and lived principally upon 
fish, which could be purchased for a mere song at Petro. Nazar 
had found that this diet did not agree with him He was too stingy 
to spend some extra money 1 had allowed him as board-wages, and 
preferred to mess at the expense of the servants, the latter protecting 
themselves by sometimes not letting him know the dinner-hour, and 
only calling him when nothing was lef t of their repast save bones. 
I " Look here!" said my servant, " I'm a skeleton.'' 
! 41 Why do you not buy something with your board-wages?" I 
inquired. 

Buy!" he replied, much surprised at my question. " I'm not 
such a fool as to buy so long as 1 can get anything to eat without 
paying for it ; but they are greedy, those dogs of servants, sons of 
animals that they are!" and the little man walked away, not at all 
pleased with the hospitality of his conf reres in the kitchen. 

1 was now introduced to the two officers who were to accompany 
me to Fort Number One. One of these, Captain Yanushefr, was 
an artillery officer, who had distinguished himself in the Khivan 
expedition, and he now commanded the entire artillery force in the 
Amu Darya district. He was going to Kasala to buy some remount 
horses from the Kirghiz. His companion was a Cossack saul, or 
captain; he was returning to Tashkent to join his squadron. These 
two officers would take with them an escort of ten Cossacks, and the 
start was arranged for the following morning. The weather had 
become much warmer; indeed, when that afternoou we rode over to 
Shurahan,. a Khivan town which has been annexed to Russia, our 
road lay no longer over snow, but over sand, while accordi^- to all 
accounts the ice on the Oxus would soon begin to melt. My com- 
panions, who did not fancy a ride to Kasala, determined to take ad- 
vantage ol this change in the weather, and travel in a tarantass 
drawn by horses, until they arrived at a place where snow had 
fallen; the horses could then be sent back, and camels harnessed in 
their stead. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Our start the following morning was a curious sight to witness. 
First came the tarantass, an extraordinary vehicle, peculiar to Rus- 
sia. It resembles a hansom-cab without the wheels, and the carriage 
then fastened in a brewer's dray. There were no springs of any kind 
to prevent jolting, while some small but very solid wooden wheels 
supported the body of the cart. Harness, made of cables, was at- 
tached to six Kirghiz horses, whose united efforts could barely move 
the vehicle more than five miles an hour. Seven officers of the 
garrison accompanied their comrades for a mile or so, and then 
wished them " godspeed " on their journey, which, in spite of the 
change in the weather, was looked upon as anything but a light, 
undertaking. Soon after leaving the fort we came to a large village. 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



163 



Here we found several ladies; among others, the wife of the artillery 
officer, who had come to say farewell to her husband. Champagne 
and bottles of vodki were lying on tne ground, and a bonfire had 
been lighted, by which the ladies sat warming their feet. 

The last adieux had been said. Yanusheift had torn himself away 
from his fond surroundings, and we were once more en route. In a 
few hours or so we came again upon the snow. It covered the 
ground so thickly that the hoises in the tarantass had to be taken 
out, and a couple of camels harnessed in their place. 

In the meantime 1 had ridden on with my guide and Nazar. 
Presently we halted by the ruins of an old castle, which had been 
built by one of the Khan's ancestors to defend his country against 
a Eussian invasion. 

1 After waiting some time for the tarantass, which did not anive, 
we continued the journey, hoping to encounter our baggage camels, 
which had been sent forward the previous day with the Cossacks. 
After marching for another hour, we stopped at a well about forty 
miles from Petro- Alexandrovsk. It was bitterly cold; there was a 
great deal of wind, nothing to eat, and, what was worse, the bram- 
bles and brush-wood were too damp to make a fire. " What had 
become of our baggage camels?" was the Question each man put to 
his neighbor; " had we passed them in the dark, or were they still 
in front of us?" 

It was useless going on or going back, and the only thing to do 
was to sit it out, and persuade ourselves that we were neither cold 
nor hungry. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but it has its limits, 
and the more 1 tried to persuade myself that 1 had just dined, the 
more 1 thought of the flesh-pots of Egypt and all their accompani- 
ments, while visions of turtle-soup and champagne came floating up 
before me, and stimulating afresh the keen rage of a ravenous ap- 
petite. The guide cursed his fate, and, to cheer up his spirits, com- 
menc-ui singing a ditty about the beauties of a sheep and the delights 
of roast mutton. However, the night sped by, and, lying down on 
the snow, we got what sleep we could, till at daybreak we were 
joined in (he tarantass. 

My fellow-travelers, who had slept in the carriage, and were pro- 
vided with thick furs, had passed the night a little less uncomforta- 
bly than ourselves, although they too cursed the cold in no very 
measured terms. 

Soon afterward we came up with the Cossacks and baggage camels, 
the escort having bivouacked a few versts beyond the well.* 

* Captain Petto, of the Russian service, In his work " Steppe Campaigns, 
gives us the following information about a. Cossack bivouac: " In the presence 
of the enemy a detachment ordinarily bivouacs behind a wagon barricade; 
but if the transport be small, and the place selected for the bivouac offers one 
of its sides to the river, ravine, or other obstacles which is secure from an un- 
expected attack, the wagon barricade may, in order to gain internal space, be 
arranged in the shape of a lunette, with its open side toward the natural ob- 
stacle. On the other hand, if the train be large, it is preferable to form a 
square, the carts being in several rows, and sufficient room be given for the 
reception of the horses, not losing sight of the possibility of bringing a fire to 
bear upon the enemy from behind the carts. The length of each face of the 
square should be in proportion to the number of men defending it. The angu- 
lar spaces are filled with bales, or occupied with guns. The troops are ordi- 
narily distributed parallel to the faces of the wagon barricade, and at such 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



The artillery captain ordered his driver to stop, and getting out of 

the vehicle, proposed that we should have breakfast. 

Presently he produced from the boot in the taruntass a square tin 
box, with a large cork inserted in One ot its sides. The vessel con- 
tained about lour gallons of the strongest vodki. He then took a 
beaker, which held about halt a pint, and called out, " Children, 
come here!" 

The Cossacks, who were looking on at the operation with great 
interest, ran up, and my companion, filling the measure, gave'each 
man in turn a dram: this the soldiers tossed off at one gulp, and then 
returned to their horses. 1 tasted some of the vodki, which was more 
like liquid fire than anything else to which it can be likened, and 
spirits of wine or naphtha would have been a cooling draught in 
comparison. However the artillery captain had no intention ot test- 
ing the strength ot the Cosasck's fire-water. His servant bringing 
up some bottles of Maderia and vodki ot another quality poured us 
out a less potent stimulant, which in the keen air we were then 
breathing was not unpalatable, though in England two or three 
glasses of the mixture would have put most men under the table. 

The Cossacks were fine well-built fellows averaging about eleven 
stone in weight, their marching weight being over eighteen stone, this 
including twenty pounds of b;iiiey for their horses (barley being pre- 
ferred to oats in these parts) and six pounds of biscuits, a sufficient 
ration for a man for four days. For arms they carried short breech- 
loadino; rifles and swords, while they were shortly lo be supplied 
wiih the Berdan carbine, which is spoken ot very highly by the 
Russian officers. 

The Cossacks do not receive much pay — about four shillngs every 
third ot a year, or a shilling a month, being all a man has for 



distances apart that between them and the inner row of carts in rear there 
may be sufficient space, in the event of attack, for bringing: up artillery and 
reserves. The men's kits are heaped up in the rear of their own particular 
section, and behind them are piled their rifles. The Cossack horse-lines are iu 
the rear of the line of the bivouac, and behind them, in the center of the bar- 
ricade, are the staff, the artillery park, the engineer and hospital trains, the 
sutlers, and, lastly, if there is room, the drivers with their horses and camels 
in a separate square. By day, it is necessary to take advantage of any oppor- 
tunity of sending out the animals to pasture ; but they should be again brought 
into camp at twilight, and, if possible, placed within the barricade — the 
camels near one of the faces most removed from the attack, and the horses ini 
the horse-lines, and hobbled. For the defense of a camp, both by day and by| 
night, it is necessary to throw out a chain of dismounted posts. These posts' 
furnished from the Cossacks are called mayaks (signaling stations). Each 
mayak consists of three men: one of them always remains mounted, while the 
other two rest: they go separately to water, to get grass, etc. At night the 
camp should be surrounded by a chain of sentries, and the detachment should 
be on the qui vive, as the robbers often make a dash at the camp, aud, taking 
advantage of the commotion which ensues, endeavor do carry off the camels 
and horses, or to seize anything they can. In former times the detached Cos- 
sack posts, pickets, and small forts along the Siberian line protected them- 
selves by throwing out sentries on commanding eminences, and at night by 
patrols ; but, owing to the small number of men and the frequent alarms, the 
outpost service was so fatiguing that the Cossacks had recourse to the use of 
dogs. These dogs were exceedingly watchful, and at the smallest noise bark- 
ed and roused the Cossacks. This custom was probably brought from the 
Caucasus— in fact, from the shores of the Black Sea, where the employment 
of dogs was in general use, and where these animals were regularly rationed 
and trained. 



A HIDE TO KHIVA. 



165 



pocket-money. However, they are well fed and clothed. The daily 
ration is two and a halt pounds of flour and one pound of meat; 
one hundred soldiers receiving one pound of tea and three pounds 
of sugar per diem, while each man is credited with half a copeck a 
day for vegetables. His horse, uniform, arms, etc., are his own 
property, or the property of the district which has equipped him 
and sent him forth to fight for the White Tzar. lie receives about 
two pounds fifteen shillings a year from the state, and is obliged to 
keep bis kit in repair with this sum, which the military authorities 
say is sufficient for the purpose, although the soldiers are of a dif- 
ferent opinion. 

These data were given me by the artillery captain, who, leaving 
his companion asleep in the tarantass, occasionally stretched his legs 
by walking a few versts over the snow. He had seen a good deal 
of service in Toorkistan, and expected very shortly to obtain his pro- 
motion. Among other things, he told me that when Kussia was at 
war with Bokhara, a Cossack officer was taken prisoner. The Emir 
sent for him, and asked if he could make powder. He said, " les, 
but not for them." On their asking why, he declared that it was 
manufactured with brandy ana pigs' fat, and that this made the 
powder so strong. ' 4 The Emir, " continued my companion, 4 4 regards 
the Sultan with feelings of the greatest veneration, and has the 
honorary title of Grand Officer to the Porte. He used to look upon 
England as the first nation in the world; but he is beginning to fear 
us now, and he believes more in our troops, who are close at hand, 
than in those of the Sultan at Stamboul." 

It was getting late, and Yanusheif gave strict orders to the sentry 
who was posted over the horses to awaken him an hour after mid- 
night. The man, however, neglected his duty, and was punished 
by having to walk the whole of the next day and lead his horse, the 
culprit being much laughed at by the other Cossacks, who look 
down upon all foot-soldiers with supreme contempt. 

It was a picturesque sight, the march from this encampment. 
First, the Cossacks, the barrels of their carbines gleaming in the 
moonlight, the vashlik, of a conical shape, surmounting each man's 
low cap, and giving a ghastly appearance to the riders, the distorted 
shadows reflected on tiie snow beneath, and appearing like a detach- 
ment of gigantic phantoms pursuing our little force. Then the 
tarantass, drawn by two huge camels, which slowly plowed their 
way through the heavy track, the driver nodding on his box but 
half awake, the two officers in the arms of Morpheus inside, and 
the heavy wood- work creaking at each stride of the enormous 
quadrupeds. In the wake of this vehicle strode the baggage 
camels, the officers' servants fast asleep on the backs of their 
animals, one man lying; with his face to the tail, and snoring hard 
in spite of the continued movement; another fellow lay stretched 
across his saddle, apparently a good deal the worse for drink; he 
shouted at intervals the strains of a bacchanalian ditty. Nazar, who 
was always hungry, could be seen walking in the rear. He had 
kept back a bone from the evening meal, and was gnawing it like a 
dog, his strong jaws snapping as they closed on the fibrous mutton. 

I generally remained by our bivouac fire an hour or so after the 
rest of the party had marched, and, seated by the side of the glow* 



166 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



ing embers, watched the caravan as it vanished slowly in the dis- 
tance. 

My guide was utterly crestfallen; he had been severely repri- 
manded at (he fort for taking me to Khiva, and was now kept in 
such order by the Cossacks that his usual air of importance bad 
entirely disappeared. 

We now arrived at a spot on the road where the snow was so 
deep that the camels were unable to draw the vehicle: in this dilem- 
ma the Cossacks proved useful; for, attaching some lassoes to the 
tarantass, and spurring their horses, they succeeded in dragging it 
slowly forward. At this place we met a Kirghiz who was faking 
the post to Petro Alexandtovsk. He rode one horse and led an- 
other, carrying his letters, food, and forage on the spare animal. 
The man, however, would change his horses every two or three 
hours, and expected to arrive at Petro- Alexandrovsk in about ten 
days from the time he had left Perovsky — the next fort the Russians 
hold on the Orenburg and Tashkent line, after passing Kasala. 

On the following day we rode by an old Kirghiz chapel, built in 
memory of some celebrated warrior. It was used in summer-time 
for praying, and in winter as a sheep -pen, the Kirghiz being in- 
different about such matters. Finally we arrived at a landmark 
known as being seventeen miles from Kasala. 

Yanusheff and 1 now determined to let the camels follow us, and 
to gallop on ourselves ahead of the caravan. The Cossack officer 
resolved to do the same. My companions selected the best horses 
they could find from amid the escort, at the same time ordering the 
dismounted Cossacks to ride the camels. The snow still slightly 
covered the ground, but not enough to stop our animals, which, 
probably knowing that they were close to home, raced against each 
other the whole way, when we galloped across the Syr Darya and 
pulled up at JMoroz oil's hostelry at twelve o'clock midday, February 
12th. 

We had ridden 536 versts, or 357 miles, in exactly nine days and 
two hours, thus averaging about thirty-nine miles a day! At the 
same time, it must be remembered that, with an interval of in all 
not more than nine days' rest, my horse had previously carried me 
500 miles. In London, judging "by his size, he would have been 
put down as a Polo pony. In spite of the twenty stone he carried, 
he had never been either sick or lame during the journey, and had 
galloped the last seventeen miles through the snow to Kasala in one 
hour and twenty-five minutes. 

A room was unoccupied at the inn. It was not a very luxurious 
apartment, the furniture consisting of a rickety table, a few chairs, 
and a wooden sofa or divan; however, it was like Mohammed's 
seventh heaven, after the steppes. A young officer, who was re- 
siding at the inn, now entered the room, and told me all that had oc- 
curred since my departure. There had been a duel, in which several 
officers participated, and he had been under arrest in consequence. 

An emeute had taken place among the Uralsk Cossacks. It appeared 
that the two thousand exiles had become very discontented at the 
way in which they had been treated, and from grumbling had pro- 
ceeded to threats; some of them had been overheard, and it was said 
that a few of the malcontents had expressed a wisn to cut the throats 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



167 



of all the officers in the fort. As the Uralsk Cossacks outnumbered 
the garrison, and the officers slept in private lodgings, and not in 
barracks, it was perfectly possible that the exiles might be able to 
carry their threat into execution. For several nights each officer 
had a guard stationed round his quarters. The district Governor 
had reported the affair to the Governor-general at Tashkent. The 
latter officer had dispatched one of his subordinate generals, with 
full powers of life and death, to investigate the matter, and reports 
said that several of the malcontents were to be shot. 

Among the many rumors which were rife at Kasala. was one to 
the effect that the Tzarevitch would probably visit Tashkent in the 1 
course of the summer, when he would perhaps join in an expedition 
to be dispatched against Kashgar. It was remarked that a campaign 
against "Yakoob Bek would afford the Prince a capital opportunity 
for winning his Cross of St. George, a military order which must 
be won on the field of battle, and which the Tzar wears. 

In confirmation of the rumors of a summer campaign, it was 
stated that a division of 10,000 men from the Orenburg district was 
now on the march to Tashkent. This was a source of annoyaDce 
to some of the officers in Toorkistan, who did not like the idea of the 
field for gaining crosses and promotion being too much enlarged. 
In their opinion, the forces then in Central Asia were ample for any 
that might be dispatched against Yakoob Bek. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

1 now called upon the district Governor, and found him at home, 
surrounded by a bevy of officers in full uniform. He told me that 
a Cossack colonel had recently died of consumption, and that the 
funeral ceremony was then going on inside the church. The men 
of the regiment were all mounted, and drawn up facing the holy 
edifice. The cold was very great, and the troops had every facility 
afforded them for sowing the seeds of their colonel's malady. In- 
deed, the frost was so severe that the district Governor and his 
friends had found it convenient to remain inside the church, and 
had returned to drink tea at home, until such time as the service 
was concluded. 

Among the guests was a naval officer who had frequently cruised 
in the Sea of Aral; he said that there was an island in it which was 
forty miles round, and that no fresh water could be discovered, 
although antelopes and foxes abounded. Some sheep had been 
turned out on the island a year previous, but since that time no one 
had seen them; while, according to my information, there were 
hardly any rocks in the Sea of Aral, and navigation was not at all 
dangerous. 

The possibility of gaining the Amu Darya and Syr Darya by 
means of the J ana Darya was next discussed; but most of the 
officers seemed to think that in this case there would be too little 
water left in the Syr Darya for the steamers to pass from Orenburg 
to Tashkent. 

When 1 had the opportunity of speaking privately to the Governor 
L inquired if he had received any communication with reference to 



168 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



the letter which 1 had dispatched from Petro-Alexandrovsk to the 
Commander-in-chiet at Tashkent, in which letter 1 had asked to be 
allowed to return to European Russia via Western Siberia. How- 
ever, the Fates were unpropitious; no reply had been sent, and 1 
had to return to the inn without any knowledge as to what would 
be my next movements. 

My quarters at MorozofTs were not quite what a sybarite would 
have selected, unless like myself, he had been confined to Hobsou's 
choice. The pipes of the stove were out of order, and when heated 
there was an escape of charcoal-gas into the room 1 inhabited, a 
frightful headache being the consequence. If, on the contrary, 1 
desired the servant not to light the stove, furs had to be worn day 
and night to keep out the Cold. 

The waiter was the most phlegmatic of his species. When 1 
complained of the gas, he never moved a muscle of his countenance, 
but simply observed, " One of noble birth, at Morozoff's it is al- 
ways so;" and if 1 upbraided him on account of the cold, he re- 
turned a similar answer. 

Yanusheff now came to say good-by. He had not been able to 
find any good artillery horses at Kasala. He intended to start tbe 
following morning for a large village in the neighborhood of Perov- 
sky, and visit the sultan of the district, a Kirghiz chief, who owned 
fif teen hundred horses. 

A little later in the day I received a letter from General Kolpakov- 
sky. It was to this effect- that as 1 had received orders to return 
immediately to European Russia, he could not sanction my proposed 
journey via Tashkent and Western Siberia, for this would not be 
the shortest route; anr 7 . that the permission which 1 had received 
from General Milutin to travel in Russian Asia had been canceled. 
Presuming that the reasons given would convince me of the neces- 
sity ot my immediate return to European Russia by the postal road 
to Orenburg, he asked me to believe in his complete respect, and 
had the honor of being, etc., etc. The letter was very conclusive, 
and there was nothing to be done save to pack up my traps, order 
horses, and start for Orenburg. 

The district governor now called; he had also received a letter 
insisting on my immediate departure from Kasala. Although it 
was a holiday, and all the official departments were closed, he said 
that he would at once send to get me a podorojnaya (a road pass). 

I wanted to change some gold before 1 started on my journey. A 
Bokharan offered to take a few ot the Russian half- imperial pieces, 
but on looking at them he refused to give the same value for all the 
coins, as some of them were three and four years old, and this, in 
his opinion, deteriorated their value. 1 eventually disposed of my 
half imperials, and also of a lew English sovereigns, to the district 
governor. These were looked upon as a curiosity by the Russian 
officers in Central Asia, and whenever it became known that 1 pos- 
sessed some, all were eager to change them for me. 

The sleigh was packed; the horses were prancing at the door; 1 
had paid my bill, and sold my horses, etc. My little black had not 
been a dear purchase. 1 bought him for forty rubles (about five 
pounds), and had sold him for three pounds ten shillings. He had 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



169 



carried me over nine hundred miles, and 1 had no reason to complain 
of my bargain. 

Getting into the coffin-like sleigh, 1 said farewell to my friends. 
A wild huzza from the Tartar driver to stimulate his horses, accom- 
panied by a stinging reminder from his whip, and we were oft. 

Later on 1 met a Jew and a Greek, who were going to Tashkent. 
The latter, when 1 inquired how he hart obtained permission to 
travel in Central Asia, told me that on arriving in Russia he had a 
Greek passport, but after a little while he managed to procure a 
Russian one, and was then permitted to cross the Ural. The Jew 
was a Russian subject, so no difficulties had been thrown in his way. 

On arriving at another station, the inspector informed me that a 
rich young Kirghiz widow was in the waiting-room. He wished to 
know whether I had any objection to her presence, as some Russian 
travelers disliked Ihe natives sharing the same apartment with them. 
To this I replied by sending the lady a formal invitation through 
Nazar, who was desired to say that an English traveler had heard of 
her presence in the station, and hoped that she would drink tea with 
him. 

Nazar departed with a broad grin on his countenance, this atten- 
tion on my part to the young widow of the steppes striking him as 
rather remarkable. "One of noble blood," he remarked, as he 
quitted the room, " you can not marry her; she is of a difiereu! re- 
ligion." Presently he returned, leading in a decidedly good-look 
ing and prepossessing girl, apparently about eighteen years of age. 
She was clad in a long gray dressing-gown, her tiny feet being in- 
cased in Chinese slippers; and her head covered with many yaids of 
white silk, worn in the form of a turban, 

On my offering her a chair, she sat down, and by the means of 
Nazar we speedily commenced a conversation. 

There are a good many ways of telling a woman she is pretty, but 
it is always difficult to do so through a third party: and the compli- 
ments which 1 paid her in Russian 1 have no doubt lost considerably 
in being translated into Tartar, though Nazar assured me that the 
expressions he selected were the most poetical with which he was 
acquainted. 

As, however, his ideas of poetry were, like my late guide's, limited 
to songs about the beauty of a sheep and the delights of roast mut- 
ton, 1 fear that when he was desired to tell her that she was the 
most beautiful ot her sex, Nazar translated it as follows: 

" He says ' that thou art lovelier than a sheep with a fat tail' " 
(this appendage being a great delicacy among- the Tartars); "that 
thy face is the roundest in the flock; and that thy breatn is sweeter 
to him than man}'- pieces of mutton roasted over bright embers.' " 

On Nazar informing her that 1 was not married, she was a little 
astonished, and then observed that she was not married, but would 
be in two years. 

It appeared that, according to the laws of her tribe, she must be- 
come the wife of her late husband's brother. The latter was only 
twelve years of age, and she would have to wait till the boy was 
fourteen before the marriage could take place. The lady did not 
much like the idea of so young a husband, was curious' to know 



170 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



how widows managed in my country, being very much surprised to 
learn they chose for themselves.' 

A few hours sped away very agreeably as 1 was chatting with the 
fair widow, when her future husband, a chubby-faced lad, entered 
the room, and announced that the camels were ready, and that it 
was time for them to start for their auh 

On receiving this information, she gave the boy a sharp stroke 
across the shoulder, but left the room; and the future husband will 
doubtless get many a whipping from her previous to their marriage, 
which he will probably pay back with interest at some later period. 

On nearing Orsk, 1 learned from an inspector that eight hundred 
Cossacks had already left Orenburg, and were on their way to Tash- 
kent, snd he added that he had received orders to have some kibilkas 
pitched for them close to the station-house. Many more battalions 
would shortly follow, and they would have been at Orsk before if it 
had not been for the weather, which this winter had been more 
severe than he ever remembered, several Tartar drivers having been 
frozen to death. 

Nazar now informed me that his wife lived at a small village a 
few miles from Orenburg, with her father; and, as my little Tartar 
was very eager to see his lady 1 promised to halt there foi the night. 
We drove up to his house about 12 p.m. The inmates, who were 
not aware of Nazar's return, had all gone to sleep. My follower 
tried the door; it was bolted; then he hammered against the portals. 

After about five minutes thus spent waiting in the cold, his father- 
in-law came out, and nearing that I had arrived, asked me to sleep 
there for the night. In the mean time, Nazar 's wife, who was a 
good deal taller than himself, had got up, and was welcoming her 
husband. On looking around me, 1 found that only one room was 
well warmed, and that the others had no stoves. The bedroom was 
occupied by Nazar 's father-in-law, his wife, their daughter, and 
two other children. Nazar would sleep with them- 1 felt that my 
presence might be slightly de tvop, although Tartars, as a rule, are 
not particular about privacy. The apartment was in a filthy state; 
and thousands of cockroaches were crawling about on some wooden 
platforms, which served as beds for the family. 

The room did not offer any attractions, so 1 determined to leave 
my servant and drive on to the next station. This was filled with 
travelers. The commander of a battery, and a surgeon of artillery, 
with their families, occupied all the available space; so the inspect- 
or took me to his own quarters, where his wife was sleeping, the 
woman looking up with a smile as 1 entered, not being at all discon- 
certed by the presence of a stranger. 

In the morning 1 made the acquaintance of the commander of the 
battery and his wife; they were traveling in a large sleigh, and 
were many versts in front of the troops. The commander had oc- 
casionally' carried dispatches from Tashkent to St. Petersburg, and 
on one occasion he performed the journey in twelve days. He 
remarked that he could post, from Tashken to Samarcand in one 
day and a quarter, and could be in Bokhara in five days after leav- 
ing Tashkent. 

Nazar now arrived with his father-in-law, the latter bringing a fat 
goose, which he laid down at my feet. Nazar informed me that this 



A EIDE TO KHIVA. 



171 



was his way of showing respect, remarking that it was a fat bird, 
and that he would eat it if 1 did not. The father-in-law could speak 
a little Russian, and inquired about Nazar's moral behavior during 
his journey, patting the little Tartar on the back when 1 said that 
his conduct had been most exemplary, and that to the best of my 
belief he had not brought back a Khivan lady. 

Not far from this station we met two companies of infantry on . 
the march to Tashkent. They were all in sleighs, some drawn by 
camels, others by horses, live and six men being in each vehicle. j 
The troops were being hurried on as rapidly as possible. The men 
seemed to be young and healthy, and were singing in chorus to pass 
away the tedious Hours. Later on, when passing~through a village, 
we encountered more soldiers, several of them mucti the worse for 
drink. 

The officers with the troops had brought ail sorts of reports from 
Orenburg, the last rumor being that Kryjinovsky was to be the gov- 
ernor-general at Tashkeut, Kauffmun to be minister of war, and 
Milutin to be commander-in-chief in the Caucasus. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

1 had made up my mind not to stop at Orenbuig, but continue 
my journey straight to Uralsk; a large town on the Ural River, the 
capital of the district from which the Cossacks in Kasala had been 
so recently banished. Uralsk was oft the main road to Sizeran; 
but by taking this route 1 should have the opportunity of seeing a 
new line of country. 

The following day I encountered an inspector who was more 
suspicious than any I had previously encountered. He looked at my 
pass—" So vou have come from Khiva?" 

"Yes." 

" You are English?" 
*' Yes." 

Here the man looked at me very fixedly, and continued: " Will 
England cede [oostoopit] us Kashgar?" 

This question rather amused me, and I replied, pointing to a horse 
that was being led by the station, " Will you cede that horse to me?" 

" He is not my property," said the man, looking a little astonished 
at the question. 

" Well, Kashgar is not an English possession, and how can we 
cede to Russia what does not belong to ourselves?" 

" Then England will not fight with us about Kashgar?" inquired 
the inspector. 

" 1 really don't know, but 1 wish she would," 1 replied, becom- 
ing a little annoyed by this evident attempt at cross-examination. 
"Anyhow," 1 continued, "if you put your noses into Afghanis- 
tan, you will very likely get them pulled for you." 

" Afghan!" said Ihe man; " oh, very good!" and taking a piece 
of paper, he wrote down: "It Russia should take the Fortress 
Afghan [Erapost Afghan] there will then be war between England 
and Russia." " 1 have noted your words down," he said. 

" So 1 see," was my remark; " but Afghan is not a lortress." 



172 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 



"That does not signify," said the inspector; " it is something, 
and you have said that it we take it there will very likely be war." 

A friend of his now entered the room, and asked a good many 
questions about England. 

" Aie the English Christians?" he inquired. 

" Yes." 

*• Have you images \obrazye\ like those?" pointing to some tawdry 
pictures of saints which hung on the wall. 
" No; we do not believe in images." 

''And yet you call yourselves Christians!" said the man, the 
Protestant religion instantly falling one hundred percent, in his esti- 
mation. 

" Do you believe in Christ?" 
"Yes." 

" And in the saints?" 

"No; not as being able to perform miracles now, whatever they 
might have done before. ' ' • 

'Horrible!'" said the man; "you are as bad as the Mohamme- 
dans." 

The distance from Orenburg to Uralsk is about 280 versts. On 
arriving at the bst-men tinned town, 1 drove to the inn. It was tol- 
erably clean, although bed-linen was a luxury unknown to the pro- 
prietor. 

My first inquiry was for a bath, and not being able to obtain this 
article on the premises, 1 drove off to the bathing establishment. 
Here 1 was told that no washing could be done on that day, for it 
was a Friday, and not a washing-day. No one in Uralsk ever 
washed on a Friday, and if 1 wanted a bath 1 must come there the 
next afternoon. The offer of four times the usual price had no effect 
on the proprietor ,and in return to my entreaties the man merely ex- 
claimed: "Little father, go away. To-morrow the bath will be 
beautiful and hot. Go away, for the sake of God, and do not be 
angry. 1 ' 

On returning to the hotel, 1 found that the Chief of the Police in 
the town had already been to see me, and had left word that he 
would call again. Shortly afterward he was announced, when in 
the course ol conversation he told me that he had heard of my being 
likely to visit Uralsk, having received the information from Oren- 
burg. 

The next morning Nazar came into my room with a beaming coun- 
tenance. " "We shall have such a spectacle to-day, and all for noth- 
ing!" he said; " a man is to be beaten to death. Let us go to the 
market-place; a scaffold has been erected tnere." On inquiry, 1 
learned that a Kirghiz had murdered a Cossack officer about twelve 
months previous, and that the assassin had been found guilty, and 
was to be punished. On arriving in the square, we found the ground 
partly occupied by a scaffold, on which stood a large, solid black 
cross. A few ropes and cords were lying on the platform; the scaf- 
fold was surrounded by lines of infantry, who kept the people off, 
and from time to time dropped the butt-end of their rifles on the toes 
of the by-standers, it tney attempted to approach too closely. 

Presently a low hum, which gradually swelled to a deep bass roar, 
announced" that the cortege with the prisoner was in sight. The cul- 



A RIDE TO KHIVA, 



173 



prit could be plainly seen mounted on a block of wood, placed in a 
dirty old cart, -which was drawn by a mule; a guard of soldiers fol- 
lowed the criminal, while an escort went in front and opened out a 
road through the crowd of by-standers. On arriving at the plat- 
form, the prisoner was made to ascend it. He turned deadly pale 
when he saw the cross, but, quickly recovering himself, his counte- 
nance resumed its original expression, and he carelessly nodded to 
some acquaintances. 

The officer in command of the soldiers now gave an order, and 
two of the men, seizing the prisoner, tied him up to Ihe cross. A 
magistrate, who was standing on the scaffold, took a document from 
his pocket and commenced reading the proceedings of the trial and 
the sentence, which was to the effect that the culprit would be sent 
to Siberia. 

The man did not move a muscle of his face as the sentence was 
readout, but Nazar was considerably disappointed. " And so we 
are to have no performance," said the blood-thirsty little Tartar; 
" it is too bad of the authorities cheating us so. ' ' 

Capital punishment has been abolished throughout European Rus- 
sia, save foi treason; however, it must not be thought that on this 
account the culprits are more leniently dealt with. Forced labor in 
the mines of Siberia rapidly puts an end to the criminal's existence, 
and it is said that the strongest man will succumb after two or three 
years' confinement. 

The inhabitants of Uralsk, who had most of them some near rela- 
tion or dear friend in exile in Central Asia, were so depressed that 
they hardly ventured to look us in the face as we met them in the 
streets. Some of the Ural Cossacks were said to be still in hiding, 
and waiting for an opportunity to escape from the country ; but their 
fate could not be doubted for a moment. When the cold season 
was over they would be caught, and dispatched in gangs to their re- 
lations in Kasala. 

Such are the delights of living in a country where despotism rules 
paramount. Such is the civilization which certain people are eager 
to see forced upon the inhabitants of Central Asia. 

There was nothing of note to oe seen at Uralsk, so 1 left for Size- 
ran. This was reached after a thirty-six hours' continuous journey. 
It was the middle of March; my sleigh journey was now over. 
Shaking hands with the faithful little Tartar, who had accompanied 
me to the last, 1 said good-by to him, and, so far as my travels are 
concerned, must say farewell to the reader. 



THE END. 



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255 The Mystery. By Mrs. Henry Wood. 15 

1 Mr. Smith :" A Part of His Life. By 
L. B. Walford 15 

257 Beyond Recall. By Adeline Sergeant 10 

258 Cousins. By L. B. Walford 20 

259 The Bride of Monte-Cristo. A Sequel 
to "The Count of Monte-Cristo," 
By Alexander Dumas 10 

260 Proper Pride. By B. M. Croker 10 

2G1 A Fair Maid. Bv F. W. Robinson. . . . 20 
202 The Count of Monte-Cristo. Parti. 

By Alexander Dumas 20 

5 The Count of Monte-Cristo. Part II. 

By Alexander Dumas 20 

263 Anlshmaelite. By MissM. E. Braddon 15 

261 Piedouche. A French Detective. By 
Fortune Du Boisgobey 10 

265 Judith Shakespeare: Her Love Af- 
fairs and Other Adventures. By 
William Blade 15 

266 The Water-Babies. A Fairy Tale for 
a Land-Baby. By the Rev. Charles 
Kingsley 10 

/267 Laurel Vane; or. The Girls' Con- 
spiracy. By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh 
Miller 20 

268 Lady Gay's Pride; or, The Miser's 
Treasure. By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh 
Miller .' 20 

269 Lancaster's Choice. By Mrs. Alex. 
McVeigh Miller 20 

270 The Wandering Jew. Parti. By Eu- 
gene Sue 20 

70 The Wandering Jew. Part II. By 
Eugene Sue 20 

271 The Mysteries of Paris. Part I. By 
Eugene Sue 20 

271 The Mysteries of Paris. Part It By 
Eugene Sue 20 

272 The Little Savage. Captain Marryat 10 

273 Love and Mirage : or. The Waiting on 
an Island. By M. Beth am Edwards 10 

274 Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Prin- 
cess of Great Britain and Ireland. 
Biographical Sketch and Letters. .. 10 

275 The Three Brides. Charlotte M. Yonge 10 

276 Under the Lilies and Roses. By Flor- 

ence Marryat (Mrs. Francis Lean). . 10 

277 The Surgeon's Daughters. By Mrs. 

Henry Wood. A Man of His Word. 
By W. E. Norris 10 

278 For Life and Love. By Alison 10 

279 Little Goldie. Mrs. Sumner Hayden 20 
) Omnia Vanitas. A Tale of Society. 

By Mrs. Forrester 10 

281 The Squire's Legacy. By Mary Cecil 

Hay......... 15 

2 Donal Grant. By George MacDonald 15 

283 The Sin of a Lifetime. By the author 
of "Dora Thorn e " 10 

284 Doris. Bv " The Duchess " 10 

5 The Gambler's Wife 20 



[continued from fourth page.] 

NO. PRICE. 

286 Deldee; or.TheTron Hand. F. Warden 20 

287 At War With Herself. By the author 
of " Dora Thorne " 10 

288 From Gloom to Sunlight. By the au- 
thor of " Dora Thorne " 10 

289 John Bull's Neighbor in Her True 
Light. By a " Brutal Saxon " 10 

290 Nora's Love Test. By Mary Cecil Hay 20 

291 Love's Warfare. By the author of 
" Dora Thorne " * 10 

292 A Golden Heart. By the author of 
" Dora Thorne " 10 

293 The Shadow of a Sin. By the author 
of "Dora Thorne " 10 

294 Hilda. By the author of " Dora 
Thorne" 10 

295 A Woman's War. By the author of 
" Dora Thorne " 10 

296 A Rose in Thorns. By the author 
of " Dora. Thorne " 10 

297 Hilary's Folly. By the author of 
" Dora. Thorne " 10 

298 Mitchelhurst Place. By Margaret 
Veley 10 

299 The Fatal Lilies, and A Bride from 
the Sea. By the author of " Dora 
Thorne " 10 

300 A Gilded Sin, and A Bridge of Love. 
By the author of "Dora Thorne "... 10 

301 Dark Days. By Hugh Conway 10 

302 The Blatehford Bequest. By Hugh 
Conway 10 

303 Iugledew House, and More Bitter than 
Death. By the author of "Dora 
Thorne" 10 

304 In Cupid's Net. By the author cf 
"Dora Thorne " 10 

305 A Dead Heart, and Lady Gwendo- 
line's Dream. By the author of 
"Dora Thorne" 10 

306 AGplden Dawn, and Love for a Day. 
By the author of " Dora Thorne ". . 10 

307 Two KisseCand Like No Other Love. 
By the author of " Dora Thorne " . . 10 

308 Beyond Pardon 20- 

309 The Pathfinder. By J. Fenimore 
Cooper. 20 

310 The Prairie. By J. Fenimore Cooper 20 

311 Two Years Before the Mast. By R. 
H. Dana, Jr 20 

312 A Week in Killarney. By "The 
Duchess" 10 

313 The Lover's Creed. By Mrs. Cashel 
Hoey 15 

314 Peril. By Jessie Fothergill 20 

315 The Mistletoe Bough. Edited by 
Miss M. E. Braddon 20 

316 Sworn to Silence; or, Aline Rodney's 
Secret. By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh 
Miller 20 

317 By Mead and Stream. By Charles 
Gibbon 20 



[continued on last page of cover.] 



-I, 



MUNRO'S PUBLICATIONS. 



THE SEASIDE LIBRAEY.— POCKET EDITIOi 



[continued from third page of cover.] 



318 The Pioneers; or, The Sources of the 

Susquehanna. By J. Fenimore 
Cooper 20 

319 Face to Face : A Fact in Seven Fa- 

bles. Bv R. E. Francillon 10 

330 A Bit of Human Nature. By David 

Christie Murray 10 

321 The Prodigals: And Their Inherit- 

ance. By Mrs. Oliphant 10 

322 A Woman's Love-Story 10 

323 A Willful Maid 20 

324 In Luck at Last. By Walter Besant. 10 

325 The Portent. By George Macdonald. 10 

326 Phantastes. A Faerie Romance for 

Men and Women. By George Mac- 
donald 10 

327 Raymond's Atonement. (From the 

German of E. Werner.) By Chris- 
tina Tyrrell 20 

328 Babiole, the Pretty Milliner. (Trans- 

lated from the French of Fortune 
Du Boisgobey. First half 20 

329 The Polish Jew. (Translated from 

the French by Caroline A. Merighi.) 
By Erckmann-Chatrian 10 

330 May Blossom; or, Between Two 

Loves. By Margaret Lee 20 

3*U Gerald. By Eleanor C. Price 20 

332 Judith Wynne. A Novel 20 

333 Frank Fairlegh ; or. Scenes from the 

Life of a Private Pupil. By Frank 
E. Smedley 20 

334 A Marriage of Convenience. By Har- 

riett Jay 10 

335 The White Witch. A Novel 20 

336 Philistia. By Cecil Power 20 

337 Memoirs and Resolutions of Adam 

Graeme of Mossgray, Including 
Some Chronicles of the Borough of 
Feudie. Bv Mrs. Oliphant 20 

338 The Family" Difficulty. By Sarah 

Doudney 10 

339 Mrs. Vereker's Courier Maid. By 

Mrs. Alexander 10 

340 Under Which King? By Compton 

Reacle 20 

341 Madoliu Rivers ; or. The Little Beauty 

of Red Oak Seminary. By Laura 
Jean Libbey 20 

342 The Babv, and One New Year's Eve. 

By "The Duchess" 10 

313 Tiie Talk of the Town. By James 

Pavu 20 

344 "The Wearing of the Green." By 

Basil 20 



348 From Post to Finish. A Racing 
mance. By Hawley Smart 



349 The Two Admirals." A Tale of th 

Sea. By J. Fenimore Cooper. . . 

350 Diana of the Crossways. By Geo 

Meredith 

351 The House on the Moor. By M 

Oliphant 

352 At Any Cost. By Edward Garrett. 

353 The Black Dwarf, and A Legend 

Montrose. By Sir Walter Scott. . . 

354 The Lottery of Life. A Story 

New York Twenty Years Ago. 
John Brougham 

355 That Terrible Man. By W. E. Non 

The Princess Dagomar of Polan 
By Heinrich Felbermann i 

356 A Good Hater. By Freder ick Boyld 

357 John. A Love Story. By Mrs. OU- 

phant 

358 Within the Clasp. By J. Berwicl 

Harwood ' 

359 The Water-Witch. By J. Fenimoi 

Cooper 

360 Ropes of Sand. By R. E. Francill 

361 The Red Rover. A Tale of the S< 

By J. Fenimore Cooper, 

362 The Bride of Lammermoor. B; 

Sir Walter Scott 

363 The Surgeon's Daughter. By Si 

Walter Scott 

364 Castle Dangerous. By Sir Walte; 

Scott 

365 George Christy; or, The Fortunes o| 

a Minstrel. By Tony Pastor, 

366 The Mysterious Hunter; or, Th 

Man of Death. By Capt. L. C. Carl 
ton 

367 Tie and Trick. By Hawley Smart. . 

368 The Southern Star: or. The Diamond 

Land. Bv Jules Verne, 

369 Miss Bretherton. By Mrs. Humphry- 

Ward 

370 Lucy Crofton. By Mrs. Oliphant 

371 Margaret Maitland. By Mrs. OliphanJ 

372 Phyllis' Probation. By the author o 

" His Wedded Wife " 

373 Wing and Wing. By J. Fenimo: 

Cooper 

374 The Dead Man's Secret; or, The Ad- 

ventures of a Medical Student. By 
Dr. Jupiter Paeon 

375 A Ride to Khiva. Bv Capt. Fred. 

Burnaby,of the Royal Horse Guards 

376 The Crime of Christmas-Day. By the 
author of " My Ducats and My 
Daughter 



345 Madam. Bv Mrs. Oliphant 20 

346 Tumbledown Farm. ByAlanMuir.. 10 

347 As Avon Flows. By Henry Scott Vince 20 
The above books are for sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address, postage pr 

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